Down Periscope: Mario and Sonic Style!
by CrankshaftRabbit
Summary: Lt Cmdr Sonic T. Hedgehog is so close to commanding his own sub but he has to go through one final test. A War Game. Against incredible odds, will he suceed, or fail? Slight Sonamy. Crossover with Super Mario characters. Rated T for language.
1. The Briefing

**AN: Hey thar! This idea came to me when they first started doing those Olympic video games with Mario and Sonic competing against each other. So basically, this is the plot of 'Down Periscope' with the cast of Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog. Hope you enjoy this spoof :) and remember, you flame, I block :D.**

**Disclaimer: Super Mario and Co. belong to Nintendo. Sonic the Hedgehog and Co. belong to SEGAAAAA! Down Periscope belongs to 20th Century Fox.**

**NOTHING IS MINE!**

**PS: I know it's kinda OC of Sonic to be a naval officer since he's aqua phobic but whatever xP**

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><p>-Chapter 1: The Briefing-<p>

One bright and cloudy day in Soleanna, the Admiralty of the GSA Navy gathered together in the Board Room to discuss a few issues.

"Moving on," said Admiral Starfox. "to the last name on the list, Lieutenant Commander Sonic T. Hedgehog. Third in his class at sub school. Did even better in the advanced course. Cited for tactical excellence, joint NGTO exercise."

Sitting at the end of the table was Admiral Gerald Robotnik.

Meanwhile out on the sea, the 'NSS Orlando' was sitting near the harbor. A few Toad officers were out on deck with binoculars and Cmdr. Sonic.

"1-8-0 and closing sir." said Toad, looking through binoculars.

"Ahead one third. Steady on course." Sonic ordered.

"Ahead one third," repeated the second Toad. "steady on course. Aye sir!"

"Target at 1-7-5 and closing sir!" Toad said.

Sonic continued to look out onto the horizon.

"Let's try a shot." he said.

The Admiralty were continuing the briefing as Admin. StarFox folded up a file.

"This is the third time Sonic Hedgehog has up for command." he explained. "If we don't give him a boat, he'll be dropped from the program."

Also sitting at the table was Rear Admin. Bowser K. Koopa.

"Which would be a personal tragedy for him," Admin. StarFox continued. "and a mistake for us, given the years and money spent training him."

Admin. Bowser spoke up.

"Well, I'd have to disagree with you Admiral Fox." he said. "Hedgehog's fitness report also presents a young man, who three years ago, brushed against a Merauder missile sub he was tracking just off of Wave Ocean. Not exactly a promotional bell-ringer."

Back on the ocean, the 'Orlando' was still contemplating action.

"Target at 1-6-0 sir." Toad said. "Five-knot aiding wind."

Sonic was deep in thought.

"Delivery Seven." he said.

"We have a shooting solution!" Toad exclaimed.

"More to the point," Admin. Bowser continued. "I simply don't approve of his command style. He's impulsive. He's often undisciplined, even reckless at times."

"FIRE ONE!" Toad shouted.

Sonic then swiped a golf ball with a club off the sub as Toad returned to his binoculars.

"Oh get up there, you miserable little puke!" Sonic ranted.

The ball landed on the green a half a mile away from the 'Orlando', and rolled a little ways toward the hole, until it was about half a foot away from the hole. Toad let out a whistle.

"That's a fine shot sir." he complimented as Sonic smirked.

"Well what the heck?" cried a voice.

It was Commander S. Mario, who had come up on deck.

"Why don't we pull in, so you can putt out?" he continued.

The Toads exchanged nervous glances at Sonic. He was going to be in for it. Again.

"I will simply remind the Selection Board," Admin. Bowser continued in the Board Room. "of one irrefutable fact that seems to sum up Hedgehog's character. There is physical evidence, that as an Ensign, Hedgehog became so physically intoxicated, that he not only allowed himself to be tattooed, but tattooed on his genitelia. Now call me a prude if you want, but I don't think it's good policy for the Navy to hand over a billion-coin piece of equipment to a young man who has 'Welcome Aboard' tattooed on his penis!"

Admin. Gerald gave a smirk, while the other admirals uncomfortably cleared their throats.


	2. The 'SS Stingray'

-Chapter 2: The 'SS Stingray'-

After catching him playing golf, Cmdr. Mario and Lt. Cmdr. Sonic went below deck.

"Captain sir," Sonic had protested. "after 80 days under the ice pack, I thought a little recreation might be in order."

As they headed to the captain's quarters, Crewman Yoshi passed them by.

"Priority message sir." he said handing Mario a sheet of paper.

"I was not endangering the boat." Sonic continued. "I was only having a little fun for God sakes!"

"But your actions were totally inappropriate." Mario argued. "It's not the way a prospective captain acts! A failing I've noted more than in your fit rep."

They entered Mario's quarters and he took a seat at his desk. He then handed Sonic a file folder.

"As much as I like to see my men in advance," Mario continued. "I have an obligation to the service to be as honest as I possibly can."

"Boy, then I'm in trouble." Sonic muttered while opening the file.

"This wreck, you call your career, is entirely of your own making!" Mario exclaimed.

Sonic read through the file.

"This is a confirmed kill." he said after reading. "Twenty years down the fucking drain!"

The blue hedgehog closed the file and tossed it onto Mario's desk.

"Watch your language, Sonic," Mario groaned. "you know how I hate that!"

"Oh gee," Sonic scoffed sarcastically. "now I've gone and done it, and ruined my career."

There was a moment of silence as Mario read the message that Crewman Yoshi gave him earlier.

"Apparently not." he said lowly.

Sonic's head perked up in slight interest. Mario meanwhile had a look of solemnness.

"This is just in from COMSUBLANT." Mario said, handing Sonic the message. "You are to return to Soleanna immediately, to take command of your own submarine."

"That's not funny." Sonic interjected.

"No it's not." Mario pointed out. "That's why they decoded it twice."

Sonic looked at the message again as Mario got up out of his chair and heaved a sigh.

"Congratulations." Mario said, shaking Sonic's hand.

Sonic slowly slunked out of the captain's quarters.

"Ah haa!" he cheered to himself as Mario shook his head.

The very next day, Sonic drove his car to the Soleanna Naval shipyard in high spirits.

"Oh yeeeaaah!" he sang to himself. "I just hope they have one in turquoise. Thank you!"

An hour later, sonic joined Admin. Bowser on a skiff sailing through the shipyard.

"It's good to see you again Hedgehog." Bowser said. "It's been about a couple years."

"Something like that, sir." sonic said cheerfully. "Not since we were both at Mushroom Bay."

"Well," Bowser continued. "you're about to join the elite of the submarine service. The best the GS Navy has to offer."

"Damn good feeling sir." Sonic replied, feeling more excited.

As they reached their destination, Bowser turned to his right.

"As a matter of fact," he said. "there she is right now. Your new boat."

Sonic turned around in anticipation, but when he saw it, his expression dropped almost completely. Sitting at the dock, was a very old-looking and rusty submarine.

"'SS Stingray'" Bowser announced. "'SS-161'"

Sonic was in complete disbelief.

"THAT?" he cried. "This can't be my boat sir!"

"Well, it most certainly is." Bowser replied, hiding the glee in his voice. "Balao-class. Refitted in 1958."

"Balao-class? But that's a diesel sub!" Sonic cried again while Bowser hid a chuckle. "This is a joke right? The navy doesn't even use diesels anymore."

"They do now," Bowser said. "she's been recomissioned."

Sonic was in outrage.

"Well, no disrespect to the 'SS Rustoleum' here," he exclaimed. "but I'd be better off in the 'Merrimack'! I was trained to command a nuclear boat!"

"Are you refusing to take command?" Bowser asked, hoping that Sonic was.

Sonic bit his tongue and curbed his attitude.

"No sir." he said grudgingly.

"Good." Bowser replied. "Meet your crew here tomorrow at 0700."

"They also left over from the Great War sir?" Sonic asked sarcastically.

"No Captain," Bowser said. "they've been handpicked. By Me."

Later that morning, Sonic came knocking at Admin. Gerald Robotnik's office.

"Come on in!" Gerald called out.

Sonic walked inside and saluted after approaching the admiral's desk.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice Admiral Robotnik." he said.

"Certainly Captain." Gerald replied, saluting back. "Take a seat."

"Thank you." Sonic said again.

The two officers sat down as Gerald gave a soft chuckle.

"Well, how do you like your boat?" Gerald asked.

"It's a complete piece of-" Sonic made a pause before continuing. "..antiquated equipment sir. I've dedicated a substantial part of my life to getting my own boat. I was wondering why the Navy choose to embarrass me in this way."

"No embarrassment intended Captain." Gerald explained. "You've been chosen for a specific mission."

"To turn her into a museum sir?" Sonic asked sarcastically. "The wonderful world of corrosion?"

"Hardly." Gerald replied.

Then he handed Sonic some pictures.

"Here are some recent satellite photos of Robotropolis Naval Bases." Gerald said. "At Sectors A-11 and B-32. That's where they've got their diesel sub fleets. They're in dock there."

Sonic looked through the photos.

"But each week," Gerald continued. "they're fewer. Because they're selling them off like hotcakes. To countries like Moebius, the Iron Dominion, and Sand Blasters to name a few."

"With all due respect sir," Sonic replied, putting the photos down. "One Soleannan nuclear attack sub could defeat several diesels."

"In conventual battle, certainly that's true." Gerald agreed. "But what if you had one renegade diesel captain, decided to hit us, BAM! Without cause or warning. Like a terrorist intent on getting a nuclear warhead into one of our harbors. You think we can catch a kill a bogey like that in time?"

"Absolutely sir." Sonic replied again, sounding convinced by his answer.

"Well," Gerald said getting out of his chair. "the department of defense and most the admiralty, they would agree you. But for me, personally, I'd like to know for sure. That's why you're gonna clean up the 'Stingray' and take her out off the Atlantic Coast for a series of war games. One rebel diesel, against the GS Nuclear Navy. Come on."

He motioned Sonic to come over to a wall that had a Map of Soleanna and surrounding cities hanging on it.

"First, you're gonna attempt to invade Station Square Harbor," Gerald explained, pointing to the map. "and if you're to evade further pursuit, you're gonna attempt to sink shipping right here in the naval base in Soleanna. Simulated of course. What do you think Mr. Hedgehog?"

Sonic stared at the map. He felt that this was way over his head.

"I think I'm gonna get my ass kicked sir." Sonic sputtered.

"Awww, don't think like that!" Gerald exclaimed. "Damn it to hell, don't go by the book! Think like a pirate. I want a man with a tattoo on his dick! Have I got the right man?"

"By a strange coincidence, you do sir." Sonic said lowly. "However, the task you've given me here, is close to impossible."

Sonic continued to stare at the map.

"If I pull it off," he said, turning back to Gerald. "that is get both ports, I would like command of my own nuclear sub."

"Setting terms now?" Gerald asked.

"No sir," Sonic replied. "but without a command once this exercise is over, I'm headed for a desk job. Which means I'm out of the navy."

There was a very brief silence between the officers.

"I can't make you any guarantees Hedgehog, but this is what I'll do." Gerald said with a smile. "I'll give you two live torpedoes. I'll set a dummy ship in Soleanna harbor. If I see that baby go up, then we'll talk about your boat."

It was Sonic's turn to smile.

"Thank you sir." he said.


	3. New Crew

-Chapter 3: New Crew-

The very next morning, the newly appointed crew members of the 'Stingray' assembled on the dock awaiting inspection by their captain. Sonic walked down the side-by-side single-file line of men making side comments to each one.

"Nice pants. Lose the cigar. Oh, you better burn that shirt sailor."

As he finished his inspection, Sonic went towards the small bridge that connected entrance of the boat to the dock. The blue hedgehog felt very unsure and awkward about the sailors now under his command.

"It's the crew from hell.." he muttered to himself.

Waiting for him at the bridge was another naval officer with a clipboard in his hand. He was short, barely had any hair, and was the only other naval officer or sailor that actually wore a uniform as the rest of the crew wore casual clothing. In his hand, was a clipboard that contained the names, classes, and ranks of the sailors. As Sonic approached him, he eagerly saluted the lieutenant.

"Good Morning sir!" he boomed very loudly. "Snively T. Kintobor, Executive Officer of the 'Stingray' sir!"

Sonic saluted him back with a raised eyebrow.

"You come with a volume control Kintobor?" he asked sarcastically.

"Excuse me sir?" Snively asked in response.

Sonic decided to drop the subject and focus on more important matters.

"Lieutenant Commander Sonic Hedgehog" he replied shaking Snively's hand. "You're kind of young for an Ex-O aren't you?"

"Excellence knows no age sir." Snively beamed with a proud voice.

Sonic gave a nod, putting his sunglasses in his shirt pocket.

"Speaking of age," he quipped. "whaddya think about our boat Kintobor?"

Snively made an honest face.

"I feel I need a tetanus shot just from looking at it." he said. "The only thing holding her together are the bird droppings, sir."

Sonic smirked and gave another nod. Then he turned to the sailors who were still silently lined up.

"We have our crew here I see." Sonic said. "What do you say we board them?"

"Yes, sir." Snively replied. He then took the clipboard he had in his hand and began to read from it. "'Seaman, Nakurusu Ekiduna', sir!"

Walking up to them, was a crimson hued echidna also wearing sunglasses and carrying his belongings with a smirk on his face. Sonic shook his hand.

"Welcome aboard, Ekiduna." he greeted to the sailor.

"It's Echidna sir, but my friends call me 'Knuckles'".

"'Knuckles'" Sonic repeated.

Knuckles gave a snicker and removed his shades after handing Snively his naval file.

"I'm uh, bit of a gambler sir." he quirked.

Sonic gave a nod and looked down at Knuckles' feet which were clad only in socks.

"What happened to your shoes?" Sonic inquired.

"You ever bet on a sure thing, and the horse gets a cramp, sir?" Knuckles replied.

Sonic decided not to answer that and pointed to the boat with his thumb.

"Grab a bunk." he instructed.

"Thank you, sir." Knuckles said, still smirking.

He went trotting up to the ship as Sonic and Snively turned back to the rest of the crew.

"Next?" he called out.

Before Snively could read the next name on the list, his and Sonic's attention were suddenly caught by a small disturbance. Left of the dock, was a black and red-striped hedgehog wearing shades, being forcibly pulled up the dock by two sailor officers, one of which had the hedgehog's belongings.

"Hey, HEY!" the hedgehog yelled. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF ME!"

Sonic and Snively all the while were watching this.

"Oh good," Sonic said smugly. "our chaplain has arrived."

As they walked down the dock, the crimson splashed made a threatening move at the officers walking behind him, causing them to stop and become cautious towards him. But, he continued walking down to the boat. Snively meanwhile, went back to reading the list.

"'Sonar Technician, Second Class, Miles Tails Prower', sir!" he called out.

A mellow twin-tailed fox, came walking slowly up to Sonic and Snively.

"Goes under the name 'Sonar', sir." Snively told Sonic.

"Welcome aboard, Sonar." Sonic said, turning to the sailor.

"Uh excuse me sir," Tails droned. "this is an actual Navy submarine, not a float in a parade or something?"

"I'm afraid so, Sonar." Sonic replied.

Tails tilted his head.

"Huh, isn't that odd?"

He turned to boat and started walking across the bridge.

"Don't tell me," Sonic said quietly towards Snively. "deaf as Beethoven."

"Oh no, great ears, sir." Snively whispered. "Watch what you say around him. He hears everything. His last C.O. thought he was a security problem."

Tails suddenly turned around towards them.

"Excuse me sir," he droned. "I don't hear everything. And I'm quite trustworthy...too."

"Right." Sonic replied nodding.

Tails exchanged the nod and resumed towards the sub. Sonic and Snively breifly exchanged looks before getting back to the task at hand.

"Shoot." Sonic told Snively.

"'Engineman, First Class, Shadow Maria Robotnik'!" Snively called out.

The troublesome ruby-striped hedgehog that was being escorted by the sailor officers, approached the Ex-O and the Captain.

"Sit on it and rotate, sir." Shadow gruffly told the captain.

The other sailors gasped and groaned while Sonic merely smirked at this. Snively on the other hand was NOT pleased.

"WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY SAILOR?" he screamed. "YOU CAN'T SAY THAT! HE CAN'T SAY THAT!"

Sonic quickly restrained the enraged Ex-O, while Shadow merely took off his shades, totally unmoved by Snively's rage.

"Kintobor, down! Heel!" Sonic cried while holding down Snively's shoulders.

"By the Uniform Code of Military Justice that constitutes gross insobornation," Shadow declared. "punishable by one month in the Brig. I'm ready to go, sir."

Sonic smirked at him and folded his arms.

"Board the boat." he told Shadow. "I like a challenge."

"You'll throw me off within a week." Shadow hissed. "I'm a dedicated pain in the butt, sir!"

"Robotnik," Sonic whispered, moving closer to the midnight hedgehog.

"What?"

"If I throw you off, it'll be in the middle of the Atlantic."

Shadow threw a sort of sputtered look at Sonic while the cyan speedster continued smirking at him.

"Board the damn boat." Sonic ordered.

"Aw, man." Shadow complained. "What's our mission, rescue Gilligan?"

The other sailors began chuckling at his joke. Snively was still unsatisfied however.

"YOU'RE MINE MAGGOT!" he yelled as Shadow went up to the sub.

"Ha!" Shadow yelled back.

"I love this job!" Sonic said still smirking. "And who's our next contestant?

Later that day, the crew were settling themselves in the bunkroom after they were all accounted for and boarded the sub. One side of the room was a light violet furred walrus, trying to lift his bag up on the top bunk, but ended up hitting a red armadillo who was taking the top bunk across him.

"Sorry." the walrus said. "Name's Rotor Buckman Walrus."

He shook hands with the red armadillo.

"Uhhh Nitro, hi." the armadillo slurred.

"Interesting nickname." Rotor said. "What's your real name?"

'Nitro' looked absent-mindedly off to the side for a brief second.

"Nitro." he replied. "I'm working on a nickname though."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Uh listen to this: 'Miiiighty'?"

Rotor gave a rather confused look while Mighty shrugged his shoulders. On the other side of the room, was Knuckles turning the bunk mattress over to the non-dusty side and not pleased with the presence of a particular crew mate taking the bunk across him. He was a purple chameleon, placing his sports bag atop of his bunk.

"You're 'Stoneball Jackson' aren't you?" Knuckles said smugly.

Espio C. Jackson slowly turned to him, insulted.

"Who the hell are you calling 'Stoneball'?" Espio questioned.

Knuckles quickly turned to him looking rather irate.

"I lost a grand on that Army game because of you, Butterfingers." he replied accusingly.

"Yeah, well, for your information, I was mugged. Gaines was all over me that play, alright?"

"Oh yeah? I saw that play. I saw the replay, I saw the slow-motion. There was nobody near you, but the mascot. And he could have made that layup."

Espio turned back to him giggling sarcastically and putting his hands together.

"That's-that's cute." Espio snickered. Then he turned serious. "But it's on, now."

"Yeah." Knuckles agreed.


	4. Odd Woman Out

-Chapter 4: Odd Woman Out-

Sonic went through a hall of the ship. The walls were covered with rust and spider webs. Then Sonic found the Captain's Cabin. The rusty metal door which had a little window with a curtain at the top, made a creaking noise when Sonic opened it. Inside was like looking into the past. The walls were of course rusty along with the cabinets, the bed and furniture was covered with layers of dust. A few old pictures were still hanging on the side wall where the bed was. The red alert light and the clock had spider webs wrapped around them. It was also kind of small for someone who was used to being on a nuclear submarine.

"It's old," Sonic murmured to himself. "but, uh, filthy."

He looked up and saw a tilted portrait of the previous captain of the 'Stingray' hung in between the red alert light and the clock. Then, Snively came by looking very unnerved and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Sonic said.

Snively came in, twitching with anxiety.

"Hell of a day huh, Snively?" Sonic quirked.

"Um..it's not over yet...sir." Snively stammered. "L-lieutenant Rose is here."

Sonic didn't seem to think anything unusual about it.

"Show him a bunk." he replied casually.

"Uh, there's-there's a problem,...sir."

Then, a female sakura hedgehog clad in a complete naval uniform like the one Sonic and Snively were wearing appeared in the doorway.

"Lieutenant Rose, reporting for duty sir." she said, saluting. "And there's no problem."

Sonic stared at her a little befuddled at first, but then started to chuckle.

"Oh, I get it." he deduced. "Please, don't take off your clothes. It's nice of the guys to get me a stripper but uh, I got a lot of work to do. Thank you. Thank you. Nice job on that uniform though."

The lieutenant gave a shocked and a little rather insulted look while Snively was slightly groaning and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I am not a stripper, sir." Rose said with a dignified tone. "I am Lieutenant Amy Rose, your new Dive Officer."

"Well that's impossible, Lieutenant." Sonic replied. "They must be confusing you with, 'Amos' Rose. Women aren't allowed on submarines."

Snively gave a 'maybe' look at Sonic when he said that.

"They are now." Amy said with a smirk. "Admin. Bowser instituted a trial program. I'm it."

She handed Sonic her file and he reluctantly took it.

"Good ol' Bowser." he huffed.

Back in the bunkroom, the crew was chattering amongst themselves, fooling around, and playing cards. Most of all they were getting to know each other. Then Sonic entered with Amy, and called for their attention.

"Men, at ease." Sonic boomed.

The crewmen went to their respective bunks and gave the captain their full attention.

"I'd like to introduce our newest crewmember," Sonic continued. "Lieutenant Amy Rose. Amy is part of a pilot program, to test the feasibility of women serving on submarines. She's going to be our diving officer."

The crew exchanged curious looks to each other while Shadow, unimpressed, raised an eyebrow and folded his shoulders.

"Can she do a back inward one-and-a-half in the layout position?" he smugly asked.

Immediately, the entire roared into laughter. Amy made a face at Shadow, while Sonic started to look flustered.

"Now look, gentlemen." Sonic directed, trying to maintain order. "I know this is an unusual situation. Can't be easy for Lieutenant Rose here, to be thrown into a jungle such as this. And I know it will make things hard on all of us."

The crew busted up laughing, making Sonic look more flustered.

"Let me rephrase that?" he stammered. "It's gonna make things 'difficult' on all of us as well. But if we just work together as a team, I'm sure we can handle ourselves-"

He made another mistake, which only made the crew laugh harder. Sonic was losing his grip.

"Comport ourselves as professionals...that is all."

Sonic immediately walked out of the room in a hurry. Amy heaved a big sigh and followed him. As she did, the crewmen began making wolf whistles and kissing noises at her.


	5. Shipshape

-Chapter 5: Shipshape-

Bright and early the next morning, the crew of the 'Stingray' were out washing the rust from the deck and hull, and bringing supplies for the voyage. Ex-O Snively was out and about writing things on a clipboard and observing the work-in-progress.

"COME ON, PUT SOME MUSCLE INTO IT!" he shouted to a crewman scrubbing a metal lever.

Captain Sonic was also out walking around and surveying the slow improvement. On the stern side of the ship, Sonic spotted Shadow whom, instead of working like he should, was sitting in a lawn chair clad only in shades and swim trunks and using a reflective board to tan.

"Robotnik, what are you doing?" Sonic asked annoyed.

"Little as possible, sir." Shadow replied to which Sonic gave a nod. "I'm a detriment to the entire operation. Total morale crusher."

"You know, of course, that the submarine service is entirely volunteer," Sonic pointed out. "all you have to do is quit."

Shadow put the reflective board down and looked at Sonic.

"My old man won't let me. He's an admiral. He thinks sub duty will shape me up. HA!"

The midnight hedgehog went straight back to tanning as Sonic gave a sigh.

"Well, I'm afraid you leave me no choice, Robotnik but to relocate you." Sonic declared.

"Really?" Shadow replied with a glee look.

"Really."

Sonic then turned to Rotor who was passing by with a pile of mops in his hand.

"BUCKMAN!"

"Yes, Sir!"

Rotor swerved around, smacking Shadow with the mops and causing him to fall into a vat of oil.

"Thank you, Buckman." Sonic said smoothly. "That'll be all."

Rotor, who looked flustered from 'accidently' swatting Shadow gave Sonic a smile and a nod and went back to work.

On the other side of the ship, Mighty was working on some wires from the electrical unit of the sub.

"1-B..cold." he muttered. "1-C-"

Suddenly, he got shocked by a live wire.

"...H-hot." Mighty sputtered.

Up on the perch, Mighty was being watched by Snively and Sonic.

"Let me guess," Sonic said, turning to Snively. "..our electrician?"

"..Yes, sir." Snively quietly replied.

As Mighty continued testing the wires, another electrical shock knocked him backwards.

The deck of the boat was being washed, scrubbed, and rinsed with metal water hydrants until all the rust and dirt was gone. Meanwhile, Espio and Knuckles were hauling a heavy metallic tube onto the ship.

"Naturally, you would take the light end." Knuckles said smugly.

"What's the matter?" Espio asked sarcastically. "You can't handle it, sweetheart?"

"Hey, this is the Navy. Don't call me sweetheart."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They motioned Tails, who was at a hydrant, to move it so they could load it. Unfortunately, Tails wasn't looking where he was moving it to, and it shot water at a directing, Snively and knock him off the sub and into the ocean. His yelping screams caught their attention.

"Uh-oh." said Tails.

Later that day, when he got dried off and into a clean uniform, Snively was walking through the galley in the sub's interior. He made a really glum look when he saw Rotor, who was now loading food supplies while smoking a cigar.

"BUCKMAN!" Snively roared, causing Rotor to immediately halt his actions and stand about face. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"Stocking the pantry sir!" Rotor cried, quickly taking the cigar out of his mouth.

"YOU FORGOT LIKE AN IDIOT, BUCKMAN. BECAUSE YOU'RE STOCKING THE PANTRY, LIKE AN IDIOT!"

Snively then grabbed two cans off of the shelf.

"WHAT ARE THESE CANS, BUCKMAN?" he demanded.

"..That one's coffee," Rotor stammered. "..that one looks like cooking lard sir."

"And which one do you think we're gonna be using more often sailor? THE COFFEE, OR THE LARD?"

Rotor was at a loss for words. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head a little.

"You think we're all gonna jump out of bed in the morning," Snivley continued. "and have a big, hot, steaming cup, OF PIG FAT?"

"Well, it depends." Rotor replied, shrugging. "If it's a cold morning, sir, you might go either-"

"THE LARD," Snively yelled, cutting Rotor off and sliding cans of instant mashed potatoes and corn off the metal counter and onto the floor violently. "IS IN YOUR HEAD, BUCKMAN!"

Then Snively grabbed the back of Rotor's head and shoved him towards the other wall, causing him to yelp.

"NOW YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT GALLEY CHART!" Snively demanded. "'CAUSE I WANT THAT CABINET REPACKED, REGULATION STYLE, BY 1100! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME 1100 IS?"

"That would be after 1000, sir." Rotor shakenly replied.

As this was happening, the commotion had caught the attention of none other than Sonic. He came into the galley to see what all the fuss was about and saw Snively giving Rotor the 'smack down' so to speak. He decided enough was enough.

"Snively?" Sonic called out.

"WHAT?" Snively shouted. He quickly changed his attitude when he saw it was the captain. "...sir?"

"Can we speak in my cabin?" Sonic replied.

Rotor gave one huge sigh of relief as Snively straightened his hair.

"Carry on." Snively rasped at Rotor.

Snively then followed Sonic into his now cleaned and furnished cabin and closed the door once they were inside.

"Snively, I'm a little worried about your health." Sonic told him. "You're not exactly a people person are you? I'm afraid you're headed straight for an ulcer, if you can't ease up a bit."

Sonic sat down in his chair while Snively was unnervingly twitching.

"I-I-I-I'm not happy...with this boat, sir." Snively sputtered. "Requesting...permission...for a transfer."

Sonic gave him a look.

"What?" he snapped.

"Commander," Snively rasped. "This-This boat is-IT'S A RUST BUCKET! IT'S A SHIT BOX! THIS CREW IS THE MOST IMCOMPETENT BUNCH, OF RETARDS AND ASSHOLES IN NAVAL HISTORY! I mean, I know why you're here, but I don't why I was even considered for such an assignment!"

Sonic decided to stop it right there.

"Excuse me, excuse me." he said sternly. "Why, am I here?"

Snively gave him a look.

"Y-you know." he stammered. "Your thing!"

"What 'thing'?"

Snively was silent before uttering it.

"The weenie tattoo."

Sonic gave a flabbergasted laugh and covered his face with one hand.

"Wow." he muttered. Then he got up from his chair. "Look, Kintobor, I hate to disappoint you. But I may have other things going for me."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I believe you sir." Snively replied in a sparkling tone. "Now about my transfer. This post could seriously jeopardize my chances for advancement. I mean, I am this close to command, sir."

"Forget it." Sonic interjected. "You think you're the only one embarrassed to be here, you think this is the command I dreamed about? Well we're all in this mess together mister. And you and your career, are in the hands of those very assholes. Including this one. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, sir." Snively rasped looking quite flustered.

"Dismissed."

Snively then walked slowly and twitchingly out of the cabin.

That evening in the bunkroom, Rotor, Knuckles, and Shadow headed for the laundry room. Knuckles had black rubber gloves on his hands and his boxers around his neck while Shadow held a flashlight. When they entered the room, Knuckles opened the laundry box and was repulsed by the smell of dirty laundry.

"Jesus Christ." he muttered while pulling up his boxers over his muzzle.

He dug through the laundry while Shadow held the flashlight in his direction so he could see. Rotor simply watched.

"You sure her clothes are in there?" he asked.

Knuckles dug deeper and then raked out a bra and pulled his boxers off his muzzle.

"Uh, unless this is yours." he said sarcastically.

Rotor and Shadow exchanged looks at each other.

The next afternoon, the 'Stingray' was looking good as new. The crew was lined up at the dock hearing a pep talk from their captain as he walked down the line.

"Well done, guys." he boomed. "She may not be the youngest girl at the ball, but she'll turn a head or two. If she drives as well as she looks, we may even survive. Dive test, tomorrow morning, 1000. The rest of you are on leave until-"

Sonic stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed Amy. Her clothes were shrunken to the point where all her curves stuck out, showing cleavage and all the buttons were straining to keep buttoned. Sonic slowly took off his sunglasses and looked at her.

"Lieutenant Rose," he said coolly. "you're almost out of uniform. Either you're confused about your dress size, or there's been some foul play."

He looked accusingly at the rest of the crew and Shadow partook in the opportunity.

"Hey, if it's a disqualifying offence, I'd like to take full and sole responsibility, sir!" Shadow called out, raising his hand. Sonic ignored him.

"Gentlemen, I wanna know who did this, or shore leave is canceled tonight." he warned.

Among the silent crewmen, Knuckles and Rotor, who had another cigar in his mouth, quietly snickered.

"Very well." Sonic concluded. "Everybody, back into the boat."

"You heard the captain!" Snively shouted. "Back on the boat!"

The crew groaned and grudgingly went back into the ship. Amy quietly followed suit.

"Lieutenant Rose?" Sonic called out to her. "Sorry. It won't happen again."

"Thank you sir." Amy replied. "But I can take care of myself."

They both exchanged nods and Amy resumed going back into the sub, despite being stiff from her extremely snug uniform. Sonic playfully chuckled at her effort.


	6. Let the Games Begin

-Chapter 6: Let the Games Begin-

The morning after the 'shrunk uniform' incident, the crew woke up bright and early for their first day at sea. Sonic, sporting shades and a navy cap and eager to begin, went up to the submarine perch.

"All right gentlemen," he boomed. "let's kick this pig!"

A couple of crewmen took off the mooring lines that kept the 'Stingray' in the dock and they landed into the water.

"Bowline clear!" shouted a sailor.

In the engine room of the 'Stingray', CPO Nate Morgan, started up the engines and watched them rev up as he gave a nod of approval and inhaled his cigarette. Outside on the perch, Sonic was enjoying the smooth sailing as the sub pulled out of the naval shipyard.

'Anchors aweigh, my boys.  
>Anchors aweigh.<p>

Farewell to college joys  
>we sail at break of day,<br>day, day, day.

Through our last night at  
>shore, drink to the foam.<br>Until we meet once more,  
>here's wishing you a happy<br>voyage home!'

When they were clear out of port, Sonic went down inside the sub and put his shades into his shirt. Ex-O Snively was waiting for him with a clipboard in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.

"Okay, Snively," Sonic said. "Let's get the lookouts below and button her up."

"Aye, aye sir." Snively replied, handing Sonic the mug. "PREPARE TO RIG FOR DIVE!"

"Aye, rig for dive!" a crewman responded.

Sonic walked over to Amy who was standing near the periscope.

"Be sure to watch your drift here, Lieutenant." Sonic directed. "Strong crosscurrents."

"I'm aware of that, sir." Amy replied with a nod. "I've already compensated."

"Excellent. So, have you ever dived a boat before, Lieutenant?"

Amy gave him a confused look as he took of his cap.

"I mean, on purpose." Sonic clarified.

"I've done over 300 on a simulator, sir." Amy explained with a proud smile. "Seventy-five of them were strong-current dives."

"And I'm sure you scored high but-"

"Higher than you, sir." Amy interrupted with an ever wider smile.

Sonic gave her a look and raised an eyebrow.

"Oh. How would you know that?" he suavely inquired.

"I looked up your scores." Amy explained. "I have a print-out if you like."

Sonic gave a cool smile and decided to turn the tables.

"I have no doubt. Still, a simulator is not a boat. Nobody talks about brave men in their proud simulators."

Snively, who was looking through his clipboard, and listening, began chuckling.

"Way to go, sir. Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh." he giggled.

Sonic then directed his attention back to the rest of the crew to get the mission started.

"All right, gentlemen let's take her down." Sonic ordered.

Snively walked over next to a flustered Amy.

"PREPARE TO DIVE!" he boomed, bobbing his head to the words and making Amy jump.

"Aye! Prepare to dive!" cried a crewman as the dive siren went off.

Sitting over at the radio set, was a very bored looking Shadow, and a very confused looking Mighty.

"Uh, does he mean...underwater?" he asked Shadow.

Instead of replying, Shadow held up finger in Mighty's face and moved it slowly back and forth with Mighty's eyes closely following it. Then, Shadow gave Mighty one hard poke, sending him backwards in chair before getting up and heading into the engine room. Mighty blinked a few times and began slap-wiping his face.

"Dive! Dive!" Snively boomed into the intercom microphone. "Rig for deep submergence!"

Sonic got back into the con area with his coffee mug and turned to Amy.

"Make your depth 6-2 feet." he told her.

"6-2, aye." Amy replied, then repeated the order to the crew. "7, down 6-2. Full ahead, two-thirds. Blow negative to the mark!"

The machinery whirred as the 'Stingray' plunged slowly, but surely, into the ocean. In the engine room, Nate switched engine gears for the dive.

"Okay boys," he told his fellow crewmembers, one of which happened to be Shadow. "down we go."

Shadow gave him a 'whatever' look before Nate started chuckling sinisterly and popping his cigarette back into his mouth. Within minutes, the 'Stingray' disappeared into the sea. When it was only about a foot and a half below, it suddenly started to tilt. An alarm began to sound as the ship continued tilt. It caused Amy to stagger backwards and hit her head against the gears. Snively also staggered backwards but managed to grab onto the periscope before falling over. In the galley, the china dishes fell onto the floor, breaking upon impact and Rotor ineptly tried to prevent any more from falling. The crewmen in the engine room also stumbled backwards except for Nate, who simply put his foot up against the control console. Tails fell out of his seat along with Mighty who slid on his knees before tumbling over. Amy put her hands to her head as she recovered from falling.

"Oh my God." she rasped.

Espio and Knuckles, who were at the wheels, struggled to get back into their seats.

"The hell did you do?" Knuckles questioned the chameleon.

"The hell did YOU do?" Espio snapped.

"We're dead." Knuckles rasped after looking at the meters. "Five to one says we're dead."

"Cool!" Mighty marveled. "Did we hit an iceberg?"

Tails gave him a look.

"Off the coast of Soleanna?" he said.

Amy got back into the con along with Snively.

"Sir, we have 12 degrees tilt starboard." she told the captain.

"Lieutenant Rose, check all emergency vents open." Sonic directed.

Amy gave a quick look at the Vent Controls.

"The board indicates that all vents are open, sir." she rasped.

"..I can see that." Sonic replied smoothly.

Snively, twitching with anxiety scrambled up to Sonic.

"Captain, maybe it's not a vent," Snively cried. "maybe we're taking on water!"

"Mr. Kintobor, it must be a vent." Sonic said calmly.

Meanwhile, Tails and Mighty tried getting back into their posts but ended up falling over again.

"Emergency vent two-bravo appear shut." a sailor said over the intercom.

"Well, then open it." Sonic replied.

"Roger."

A mass of air bubbles was let out of the sub as the vent open. Soon, the ship went back into its normal position and everyone was able to get back into their posts. Mighty stood up and started panting, causing Tails to look at him.

"What?" Mighty rasped.

Sonic went then went over to Amy with a serious look on his face.

"Lieutenant Rose that bump looks bad." he said putting his hand on her head. "You better get to sick bay."

"I'd rather not, sir." Amy said. "I want to finish this dive."

Sonic, concerned, but impressed, gave a nod.

"Very well, continue the dive." he replied. "Let's take her sown to...oh, say, 500 feet."

Amy widened her eyes then nodded.

"Yes, sir." she said. Then she turned to the crewmen, who were at the wheels. "Make your depth 5-0-0 feet, seven degree, down bubble."

Espio and Knuckles exchanged shocked looks. Espio then crossed himself while Knuckles chewed his gum frantically. Rotor suddenly burst into the con room with a flabbergasted look.

"This is good coffee, Buckman." Sonic complimented, holding up is mug.

"Thank you, sir." Rotor sputtered, taking the cigar out of his mouth.

Mighty suddenly jerked in front of him with a expression of great determination.

"I better go see if any of the other rooms are still tilted." he rasped.

Sonic grinned and nodded before the armadillo took off.

"This one's all right!" he shouted after getting past Rotor.


	7. 500 Feet!

-Chapter 7: 500 Feet!-

The depth meter slowly turned to the right, as the 'Stingray' went deeper under water.

"1-0-0 feet, ma'am." Espio declared.

"Passing 100 feet." Amy announced to the con.

The sub continued to glide slowly through the ocean effortlessly. In the engine room, Nate began taping a yard of string to the walls. Among the officers watching him were Shadow and Mighty.

"Now, keep an eye on this string." Nate told them. "Cause the water pressure is gonna squeeze the hull of this boat like an empty beer can."

Shadow gave him a look as the CPO chuckled while chomping down on his cigarette. Back in the con room, depth meter was nearly pointing at 300.

"2-8-0 feet ma'am." Espio declared again.

"Passing 280 feet, Captain." Amy said. "Jackson, adjust trim"

Espio threw a confused look at Knuckles who just simply raised an eyebrow.

"No, it's okay." Amy said quickly, trying to concentrate. "Passing 300 feet."

At this point, the crew were hearing sounds of metal straining and clinking, making them extremely unnerved and anxious. Rotor who was still watching looked up as the water pressure made a deep noise. Snively was twitching and jumping to every little noise that was made. Amy was trying to breathe in and out and act professionally.

"Passing 350 feet, sir." she rasped.

In the engine room, the string that Nate taped to wall earlier, used to be in a straight line, but as the sub went deeper under water, the string was now in a swooping arch. Nate watched as it jumped up and down from the vibrations of the machinery.

"Bet you never saw anything like that on one of them big nukes" Nate chuckled to Shadow who simply shook his head.

Mighty all the while was hanging in the doorway watching.

"Oh no, we didn't have clotheslines." he ineptly explained. "We had those dryer things, with the window in the front.

The clanging, clinking, and banging got louder and louder as the 'Stingray' almost reached its target depth.

"400 feet." Snively said nervously. "No leaks."

"Sir," Amy said, quickly turning to Sonic. "I believe this is crush depth for this particular boat.

"I have to know what she can do, Amy." Sonic replied coolly. "You nervous?"

Amy straightened up a little as Snively gave an expression, implicating him to be nervous.

"No sir." she said and turned back her attention to the dive. "Maintain seven down."

Knuckles and Espio sucked in their lips anxiously while turning the diving. The 'Stingray' continued on its way, causing more of the machinery to make louder noises causing Amy to gasp, Espio to duck his head a little and Mighty to blink a few times as he was dozing off while still holding onto the doorway. A bell finally fell over causing Snively to jump. Sonic continued to keep a calm and relaxed posture as the hull made louder straining noises causing some of the lamps and machinery to get into a tilted position. When the sub was nearly at its target depth, the noise got really loud as the hull was pressured causing the crew to brace themselves, until finally a screw blew out of its place, shattering a red alert light, and landing on the charting desk.

"BINGO! 500 FEET!" Sonic exclaimed in glee. "God, I love this job!"

The rest of the crew exhaled, relieving themselves of anxiety.

"All right everybody," Sonic announced. "I think that's enough for today. Let's get the hell out of here. Mr. Kintobor, please, periscope depth."

"Periscope depth!" Snively ordered the crew while straightening out his remaining hair as Sonic went to the P.A.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me be the first to congratulate you on a textbook dive." the blue hedgehog declared on the P.A.

With that over with, the crew went back to their proper positions all except for Mighty who was still hanging from the engine room doorway, sound asleep and snoring


	8. The Ememy

-Chapter 8: The Enemy-

Back in Soleanna, Capt. Mario was sitting in Admin. Bowser's office as the koopa gave him an explanation of the current situation.

"Mario, you and the 'Orlando' are about to take part in a highly experimental war game conceived by Admiral Robotnik." Bowser told him. "Now the objective is for the 'Orlando' to protect Station Square against an unknown submarine that'll try to invade the harbor."

Mario sat quietly in thought and focusing on the scenario.

"Now, I would to be able to tell you more," Bowser continued with a chuckle. "but the conditions of the exercise prohibit it. However, I can tell you this. Given the nature of the intruder, you won't have much trouble."

"We'll be more than ready, sir." Mario replied with a look of great determination.

-

In the Atlantic, the 'Stingray' was cruising at periscope depth. The crew was in a quiet working order, all except for Mighty, who was fixing a radio, started singing like Frank Sinatra.

"'I'm gonna feel the way I doooo TODAY! Cause, you nutsy chick, you broad. You make me feel sooooo YOUNG!' Boom. Look boys, that was terrible. I'm gonna go outside, I'm gonna have a smoke. When I get back in, you better have the horn section figured out. I can't work like this."

Suddenly, as the armadillo tweaked the wires, an electric shocked zapped him, causing him to sit back in his chair and drop his wire cutters. Blinking a few times, a radio tuner was heard and Mighty promptly went back to work, now in the persona of a baseball announcer.

"There's two on and two outs. Bonds is up again. Swung on, ooh! Fouled down the right field line. It struck the ball girl, knocked her cold. Today's game, by the way, is brought to you by-"

As Mighty worked on the radio, he was watched by a slightly disturbed Amy who was at the periscope, and a smirking Sonic, standing right next to her and slowly shaking his head.

"That guy's absorbed a lot of voltage." Sonic remarked.

Tails was also at work at the sonar and radar desk, listening closely to his headset.

"Conn sonar," the kitsune called out. "so far sir, I'm only picking up faint merchant traffic."

Sonic nodded.

"Rodger that, Sonar." he acknowledged.

Then, the cerulean hedgehog was approached by unnerved and twitching Snively.

"Captain, I'm just wondering," he rasped. "we're now in the engagement zone. Shouldn't we running silent at this stage?"

"Not just yet." Sonic replied coolly.

"They'll find us in no time like this, Captain!"

"They'll probably find us in no time anyway, Snively."

Sonic maintained his calm posture as Snively remained unnecessarily anxious.

"Lieutenant, anything unusual up there?" Sonic asked, turning to Amy.

"Still just fishing boats." she replied. "The weather's gotten bad though."

Sonic gave another nod while Snively finally walked off, nervously running his hand through his hair.

-

Meanwhile, a few distances away, was the 'Orlando', in search of her target. Inside the conn room, Mario and Executive Officer, Wario, were bent over the charting desk, analyzing the engagement zone.

"The intruder is probably coming from Norfolk." Mario deduced. "Naturally, her captain will assume we'll concentrate our efforts to the north. But her captain is undoubtedly a cunning man, so we shall do the opposite, and deploy southerly."

He then got a pencil and drew out their course on the chart.

"Ex-O, come to 1-7-6, ahead full." Mario ordered.

"Aye, sir." Wario replied, walking off to repeat the order to the rest of the crew. "Course 1-7-6, ahead full!"

-

Back on the 'Stingray', Sonic came to Tails' desk at the radar and sonar.

"Picking up anything, Sonar?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, uh, nothing much, sir." Tails replied. "Buckman's eating an Oreo up in the galley. Robotnik's taking a leak."

"In the ocean, I mean."

"Oh, uh...no, just a couple of biologics, sir. Would you like listen, or-"

"No, no. I'll pass on that thanks."

Sonic, leaning on Tails' desk, noticed that the twin-tailed fox had a box of cassete tapes on it.

"What are these tapes you got here?" Sonic asked curiously.

"Oh, those are-those are whales, sir." Tails replied, taking off his headset. "I tape 'em, try to learn their language a little bit. You know, just basic chitchat and so on. I do their hailing call against the hull, sometimes they actually answer back. Had a nice young couple alongside two or three hours ago."

Sonic gave a nod.

"Well, if you happen to hear them talking about the new nuclear attack sub in town, you be sure to let me know okay?" he said.

"Aye, aye, sir." Tails replied with a serious and determined expression.

The two exchanged nods before going about their business.

-

In the 'Orlando', Sonar Technician, Luigi, was reading the radar layouts until he found something.

"Conn sonar," he called out. "I've got a noise level bearing 3-4-6 that may be a contact sir, but it's pretty shallow to be a sub."

Mario standing in the conn with a mug of coffee in one hand, looked at the readouts.

"Make normal one-third turns." he ordered. "Come right to 3-4-6. Let's try to get a definitive classification."

-

In the 'Stingray', Sonic was again slowly pacing through the conn.

"Secure the engines." he ordered the crew. "Periscope depth. Answer bells on batteries. I wanna hear if anybody's out there."

"Aye, sir." Snively responded. He then went to the P.A. system and grabbed the mike. "Kill the engines!"

In the engine room, Nate was quietly conversing with a crewman until his attention was caught by Snively's order over the P.A. He promptly went over to the controls and shut the engine down.


	9. One Down, One To Go

-Chapter 9: One Down, One to Go-

Having Nate shut off the 'Stingray's' engines, the 'Orlando's' Sonar Technicians could no longer detect her.

"Conn sonar." said Luigi. "Captain, we've lost the contact."

There was a moment of silence as Mario thought of what to do next.

"Continue course and speed." he ordered, crossing his arms.

"Aye, sir. Continue course and speed!" Toad bellowed.

As the crew set to work on their marching orders, Wario came walking back up to the conn.

"Sonar originally classified this contact as a possible submarine," he told Mario. "but now they think it may have been a diesel engine."

"Well if it's a diesel contact, then it's not a sub." Mario concluded.

Wario nodded in agreement before walking off again.

"Aye, sir."

Then Mario gave it a second thought and called Wario back.

"Wait, wait, wait. Better check it out just to make sure. Bring me to single ping range.

"But that will give away our position." Wario protested.

"Minimal risk with this contact." Mario directed. "May I have single ping rang please?"

-

Back on the 'Stingray', the sonar readout showed the ship getting pinged by another, creating a loud pinging noise that almost caused Tails to fall over from his desk.

"Ah, geez!" he cried, throwing off his headset to his neck. "Just been pinged big-time, sir. Bearing 0-3-0!"

Standing in the conn was Sonic, Amy and a still unnerved Snively.

"Well, that didn't take long." Sonic said smoothly. "This could be the shortest command stint in history."

"I knew we should've come in from the south!" Snively cried, becoming irate. "GODDAMN IT!"

Shadow, who was now seated next to Mighty and Tails, took the opportunity to get smug with the Captain.

"Yeah, nice tactics Captain Custer." he retorted. "Not that I give a damn, we should be home in a couple of hours."

Tails put his headset back on, listening to the sounds and reading the sonar and radar readouts intently.

"It's the 'Orlando', sir. No question." he said. "I know her machinery signature. Judging by that ping, she's about 12,000 yards off and closing."

Sonic, nodding, couldn't help but smirk.

"The 'Orlando'. Captian Mario!" he said in amusement. Snively quickly rushed over to him.

"We still might have to go deep and run, sir." he suggested.

"We might," Sonic agreed. "but I doubt it." Then he turned to Amy. "Rose, prepare to surface."

"Surface?" Amy said bewildered. "What for?"

Sonic having gone over to the P.A. system followed closely by Snively, gave her a look.

"I mean, aye, sir." Amy stammered.

"SIR!" Snively suddenly shouted. "Respectfully, I can't concur with your decision to surrender this quickly."

"I'm proud of you, Snively." Sonic replied, almost paying no attention and grabbing the P.A. mike. "Engine Room, once we're on top, run on one screw only." He turned to the conn before going back to the mike. "Rig for red. And Nate, send somebody forward with a droplight and a roll of duct tape, okay?"

"What is this?" Nate cried over the intercom. "Scavenger huntin'?"

Sonic walked over to where Espio and Knuckles were sitting at the wheel.

"Mr. Jackson," the blue hedgehog said to Espio. "you look like you could use some fresh air."

Sonic gave him a smirk while the chameleon looked quite befuddled.

"Uh...uh...no." Espio stammered.

-

On the 'Orlando', the red running lights had been turned on and the sonar technicians had caught the 'Stingray' on their radar.

"Conn sonar," Luigi called out. "we have the contact steady at 5000 yards."

Mario, standing in the conn with Wario beside him, gave a nod.

"Come to periscope depth." he told Wario.

"Make your depth 6-4 feet, ahead two thirds!" Wario ordered the crew.

-

A little further ahead, the 'Stingray' surfaced and was suddenly up against a stormy sky as thunder, lighting, and rain dominated the environment. Violent waves crashed against the hull while Espio and Sonic, donning raincoats and caps, struggled up onto the perch as the hard rain stung at their faces.

"Espio!" Sonic called out.

"Yes, sir?" Espio replied.

"I want you to climb the periscope, and put that lamp on top of it."

Espio looked at Sonic like he was insane or something.

"You want me to climb all the way up there, sir?" Espio exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Sonic replied. "Look, I need an athlete, and you're the only one I got. So get goin'!"

Espio gave another look of disbelief and reluctantly started climbing up the periscope. When he was a little further up, he suddenly slipped on the slippery bars and nearly fell off.

"Oh shit! Aaah!" the chameleon cried out.

"Hang on, Espio!" Sonic shouted. "You're not gettin' out of it that easy! Now get your butt up there!"

Espio struggled back onto the ladder and continued on his way.

"Damn, I never saw this shit on the recruiting poster!" he ranted.

The violet chameleon managed to reach the top of the periscope with the lamp and duct tape in tow.

"All right!" Sonic called out. "Latch the lamp to the scope!"

"Okay, okay!" Espio replied back.

He set to work unraveling the duct tape and sticking on the lamp and then pasting it around the periscope.

-

Back at the 'Orlando', the crew were still in pursuit of their suspicious contact.

"Passing 9-0 feet." Wario called out to Mario, who was turning a wheel located near the periscope.

-

After much effort, Espio finally got the lamp securely fastened on the periscope.

"Got it, sir!" he called out. Then he started to sing proudfully to himself. "Be all that you can be!"

"That's the Army song, Jackson!" Sonic retorted. He then bent over to the entrance of the sub. "Raise the periscope!"

In a moment, the periscope was raised to its highest point. Espio and the captain rushed back inside and Sonic quickly handed the plug of the lamp to Tails.

"Sonar, plug that in." he rasped. "Running lights on now!"

Snively who was standing nearby became quite confused.

"Running lights?" he cried.

"TURN 'EM ON!" Sonic exclaimed. He rushed over to the P.A. system and quickly turned on the mike. "ALL HANDS, WE'RE NOT RUNNING SILENT, NOW LISTEN UP!"

-

Mario went over to the periscope to see if he could get a visual of their target. The moment he did, the lamp at the top of the 'Stingray's' periscope flickered on. That, along with the rest of the sub's running lights and the heavy rain, made the ship look quite different from afar. Mario finally caught visual of the sub after turning the periscope a few times.

"Oh my lord, what is that?" he asked himself. He took another long look before pulling away. "Looks like nothing but a fishing trawler."

-

Gathered around the bridge and con area of the 'Stingray' were Sonic and his crew. They bounced and boogied around while singing a popular hit from the 60s. Other crew members joined in enthusiastically even Amy, although she put her fingers in her ears because it got quite loud.

'Louie, Louie. Oh no, we  
>gotta go.<p>

Aye, aye, aye aye.

Oh babe, we gotta go now.'

The only ones not singing, were Snively and Shadow who both thought it was ridiculous. Meanwhile on the 'Orlando', Luigi and the Toads were making faces at the strange audio they were hearing.

'Aye, aye, yay, yay, yay.

A fine little girl, is  
>waitin' for me.<p>

We catch the ship for cross  
>the sea.'<p>

Luigi finally went over to Mario after hearing the singing.

"Captain?" he called out, catching Mario's attention. "Listen to this."

A Toad flipped the P.A. switch and then the singing was heard by the entire crew.

'Never think, I'll make it  
>home.<p>

A Louie, Louie. Oh babe.  
>We gotta go now.<p>

Aye, yay, yay, yay.

Louie, Louie.'

Mario made a disappointed and somewhat embarrassed face after listening.

"Perfect. We just chased down a boatload of beered-up fisherman." he grumbled.

The crew broke into soft chuckles and silent laughter.

"Officer of the deck, come to north at full speed." Mario declared. "Set your depth at 200 feet."

-

Back on the 'Stingray', the crew was still singing.

'Louie, Louie. Come on!  
>Oh baby!'<p>

Suddenly, Tails' head perked up.

"Contact is breaking off, sir!" he exclaimed to Sonic. "Leaving the area fast and noisy! I...I think we did it, sir."

The crew burst into cheers and giving each other high-fives. Espio turned to Knuckles.

"Pay up." he told him. "Pay up."

A disgruntled, but cheerful Knuckles handed Espio 20 mobiums.

"Well done." Sonic said. "Mr. Kintobor, let's go to Station Square and blow something up."

Snively gave a look of gleeful satisfaction.

"Now we're talking." he purred.

Tails however made a face.

"A-are we really gonna blow something up, sir?" he asked in a low voice.

"No, no, Sonar." Sonic assured him. "We just use flares."

Tails became relieved.


	10. New Orders

-Chapter 10: New Orders-

That night in Station Square, Admins. Bowser and Robotnik were sitting down outdoors to dinner at a restaurant.

"Well, the Storm's passed." Bowser observed.

"Right." Robotnik quietly replied.

"Not a word on Sonic." the koopa sneered. "Appears he doesn't wanna come anywhere near the engagement area."

"That's too bad for me." Gerald said casually. "That's why you invited me to Station Square-to gloat that he didn't show up?"

Bowser perfectly hid his delight.

"No, sir. Not at all." he said with a smirk. "Sonic was simply outclassed. I've never lost a war game, and I'm not about to start right now. I'm in line for a third star."

"Oh my God." Gerald cried sarcastically. "I'll no longer outrank you. What a horrifying thought."

Bowser threw him a dirty yet saucy look as he took a sip from his wine glass. Suddenly, a bright red light appeared in the night sky.

"Oh boy," Bowser sang. "look at the fireworks."

But Gerald, looking closer, knew differently.

"No, I believe that's flare." Gerald declared quickly standing up in his seat with a big smile on his face.

Bowser's expression immediately turned sour when he too realized it was a flare. And that could only mean one thing.

"Oh no," Bowser stammered in dread. "it can't be!"

Gerald let out a victorious chuckle as the koopa rushed over to a nearby telescope. Looking into it, he saw the 'Stingray' pulling into port.

"Chalk one up for the diesel navy!" Gerald exclaimed in glee. "Heh, he got Station Square. One down, one to go."

Sonic and two other crewman on the perch pulling up a pirate flag and placing it near the pericope. They gave a cheer of victory after doing so.

"YEAH!" they cried.

"DAMN IT TO HELL!" Bowser roared.

"War game record's starting to look shaky," Gerald said smugly. "not to mention that third star."

Bowser gave an enraged look.

"I don't know how he pulled this stunt off," he hissed. "but I guarantee you one thing, sir. There will not be a repeat of this embarrassment, BECAUSE I WILL HAVE HIS TATTOOED HIDE NAILED TO MY OFFICE DOOR!"

-

The next morning, the 'Stingray' had pulled out of Station Square harbor and was back on the sea. In the conn and bridge, Knuckles noticed a picture of a car that Espio taped to the hull.

"What is this doing here?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh, this?" Espio replied. "It's to remind me what I'm gonna be driving next year, instead of this."

Knuckles took a seat beside Espio.

"How do you figure that?" the echidna asked again.

"Well, I got four months to go on my navy hitch." Espio explained. "I'll speed a couple of months in the CBM until some NBM team needs a point guard. Then I pick up my ride."

Knuckles scoffed at Espio's eagerness.

"Another loser fantasy from the league leader, huh?" Knuckles joked.

"Loser?" Espio replied. "Well, at least I can say I played in front of 19,000 people. I mean, what the hell have you ever done besides lose money on me?"

"More than you know, homely. Including being chauffeured around in your dream car."

"The only thing you ever been chauffeured around in is a paddy wagon."

"For fifty mobiums." Knuckles challenged.

"It's a bet." Espio agreed with a grim look of determination.

They both exchanged a hand shake.

"Ha! Smalls the Cat, I guy I owed money to, had one." Knuckles explained smugly. "His boys tied me up, they threw in the trunk, and they dumped me naked in Rainbow Valley. Nice car. Even the trunk had cut pile carpeting."

Knuckles gave a snicker before holding his hand out to the chameleon.

"Give me the money." he demanded. "Pay it up. Fifty mobiums."

Espio raised an eyebrow and made a fake sneeze. Knuckles was repulsed.

"Oh, that's so nasty." he said in disgust.

"Sorry." Espio quietly rambled, distracting the echidna. "Dusty in here."

-

Later that day, Mighty was still fixing up the radio and was assisted by another crewman wearing a headset.

"Admiral Bowser on the radio for you, sir." the crewman told Sonic who came out from the galley with another mug of coffee.

"Thank you." the blue hedgehog replied.

"Patching you through, sir."

On the floor and working through the wiring was Mighty. He also had a headset on hand.

"Radio's working like a Swiss...car." he blankly remarked.

Sonic picked up a phone and talked into it.

"Sonic here." he said. However nobody seemed to be replying on the other line, so Sonic decided to point this out comically. "'Stairway to Heaven'? Led Zeppelin, 1971, right? Okay! Hey! Good news, guys. We just won the Billy Joel tickets and the WROK T-shirts!"

Mighty smirked and beamed with pride as Sonic turned to him.

"Nitro, you want to get me Admiral Bowser now?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"Okay!"

Mighty immediatly dropped down to the electrical unit and grabbed two wires and pulled them together. He saw they were too short to come together, so he licked two of his fingers and touched the wires. An electrical jolt and shock ran through the armadillo's body shortly thereafter.

"OH! THAT'S A LITTLE TICKLE!" Mighty rasped as his body jerked and jumped around. "MMMMM! G-Go ahead, s-sir. Try it now."

Sonic silently chuckled as Mighty's body continued to jump and shake in a mildly violent manner, and turned to the phone again.

"Hello, Admiral Bowser." Sonic said cheerfully. "Called to congratulate me?"

Bowser was back in his home office strutting around while holding the telephone.

"I'd say the, uh, weather was the determining factor," he scoffed. "wouldn't you?"

"All part of my strategy, sir." Sonic replied, beaming with pride.

"Uh-huh." Bowser said sarcastically and smugly. "Look, Hedgehog, for the rest of this exercise, there's been a reconfiguration."

"Shoot."

"Well, your new orders are, to operate only in sections 3-A and 3-B. And as usual, you will surrender upon confirmation of a shooting solution."

Sonic's expression dropped.

"But that cuts the containment area in half, sir." he protested. "Does Admiral Robotnik know about this."

"Admiral Robotnik is not administering this war game." Bowser directed with a no-nonsense tone. "You have your orders, Captain. Do you read me?"

"Loud and clear." Sonic grunted.

"Good. And Hedgehog? Remember, it's just a game."

They both hung up with Sonic scowling and Bowser sadistically smirking.


	11. Hitting Bottom

-Chapter 11: Hitting Bottom-

Rotor was cleaning dishes in the galley and dumping his cigar ash when a hotheaded Snively came down.

"BUCKMAN!" the Ex-O shouted causing Rotor to jump and then roll his eyes. Snively then held up a black talon for Rotor to see. "THERE WAS A TALON IN MY FOOD, YOU FAT-ASS MORON! Yesterday, IT WAS A BAND-AID!"

"Sorry, sir." Rotor replied coolly. "The Band-Aid was holding the talon on."

Snively furiously shoved the walrus to the opposite side.

"WHAT ELSE DO YOU PUT IN YOUR SAUCES, BUCKMAN?" he questioned.

"It's an old family recipe, sir." Rotor replied, grabbing an aerosol can. "It's a secret."

While Snively pillages through his inventory of ingredients, Rotor started spraying the aerosol can's contents on the floor and the ladder while making sure Snively didn't notice him.

"Oh my God. THERE'S COCKROACHES IN THE FLOWER!" Snively roared. "YOUR CIGAR ASH IS IN THE SPAGHETTI!"

When he was done spraying, Rotor came back over to Snively who was now inspecting a tin can.

"JESUS, BUCKMAN! THIS STUFF'S BEEN ON THE 'STINGRAY' SINCE SPACE COLONY ARK! THIS CAN EXPIRED 1966!"

Rotor dipped his fingers into the can and tasted them.

"What the matter, sir?" he asked in confusion. "It still tastes like creamed corn."

"EXCEPT, IT'S DEVILED HAM!" Snively angrily protested slamming the can onto the counter.

"That would be a problem." Rotor remarked with a smirk.

"THE CAPTAIN'S GONNA HEAR ABOUT THIS!"

Snively stormed his way back to the latter. As he did, he suddenly slipped on the liquid that Rotor sprayed onto the floor earlier and fell flat on his back. Rotor watching, was smiling the entire time having gained some satisfaction from being verbally abused from the Ex-O. Snively slowly and painfully got back on his feet and turned to Rotor.

"Nobody saw that." he rasped pointing at Rotor who promptly shook his head, looking innocent.

"You should more careful, sir." Rotor advised. "Remember: when you rush, that's when accidents happen."

"SHUT UP, BUCKMAN!"

Snively grudgingly went up the ladder and slipped again hitting his chin on each step of the ladder and landed on the floor. Rotor, popping his cigar back into his mouth, quietly sniggered.

-

Meanwhile, in the con room, Tails was listening intently to the sonar and the radar, until he picked up something that made him panic.

"Uh-Oh." he murmured, throwing off his headset, getting out of his seat, and racing down the hall.

The kitsune bolted into the Captain's quarters where Sonic was just sitting down to a spaghetti lunch.

"Excuse me, sir," Tails rasped. "but I'm picking up all kinds of stuff."

Sonic placed his napkin on the table and quickly followed Tails into the con.

"Up periscope." he ordered the crew.

He looked through the scope and his expression turned grim.

"Oh my god, they got three destroyers and a frigate up there." Sonic said lowly.

"Active pinging, sir." Tails told him. "From aircraft sonar buoys."

Sonic took another glance at the scope which showed a plane sailing through the sky in search of the 'Stingray'.

"Down periscope. Emergency deep." he ordered the crew. He then went to the P.A. system and grabbed the mike. "Rig for silent running. Battle stations!"

An alarm bugle was sounded, alerting the rest of the crew to their stations. Shadow who happened to be in the galley, got up promptly towards the con and knocked over Snively who was attempting to climb up the ladder again. Shadow angstly smirked at him as he landed on the floor.

"Pump negative. All ahead full." Amy declared as the crew one by one, returned to their posts. "All planes on full dive. Full negative to the mark! Passing 100!"

Shadow got into a seat next to Tails.

"What's going on?" he asked him. "Any way I can cause a problem?"

"No, we're pretty well covered for now." Tails replied.

"Shit." Shadow muttered under his breath.

Amy was continuing the dive as Sonic went to her side.

"Passing 120." she declared.

"Let the air out of this thing, Rose." Sonic told her. "We gotta get below that P-3 sonar."

Amy nodded.

"Twenty degrees down bubble." she ordered as she and Sonic took ahold of the bars on the ceiling.

"Take her all the way down to the bottom." Sonic declared.

Amy gave a confused look.

"To the bottom, sir?" she asked.

"Yeah, it confuses their sonar." Sonic explained. "They can't distinguish between us and the ocean floor."

The sub nose dived towards the bottom with much haste. Knuckles and Espio adjusted the wheels they were at as they went deeper into the ocean.

"Passing 300 feet." Amy declared.

"Approaching the bottom, sir." Tails announced. "I can hear a couple of lobsters duking it out."

Sonic smiled and shook his head.

"Two degrees down bubble-no, one and a half degrees down bubble!" Amy ordered in a scrambled tone.

"Everything in hand, Rose?" Sonic asked, concerned.

"Yes, sir." Amy rasped. "Just didn't do much bottoming on the simulator."

"Nothing to it. Piece of cake." the blue hedgehog assured her.

Amy gave a quick nod and promptly returned to the dive.

"One degree down bubble. No...y-yes."

The sub drew closer to the rocky bottom at full speed.

"Uh, approximately 10 feet to bottom, sir." Tails announced.

"All stop!" Amy ordered. "Half degree down bubble!"

The sub then crashed into the rocky earth, causing the sub to violently shake and making the crew members to stagger and fall over. The shaking also caused some of the lights to flicker on and off. The 'Stingray's' crash did not go unnoticed however. A few miles away, the 'Orlando's' sonar technicians picked up the sounds of metal colliding with underwater land.

"Conn sonar!" Luigi cried. "Hot noise in the water!"

The 'Stingray's' hull made a few creaking sounds before settling into the ground. The crew was hanging on to anything on the walls or panels to keep from falling over. Amy had fallen beside the charting desk and desperately holding onto it as the shaking came to a stop. On the 'Orlando', Mario promptly came over to Luigi after he made his announcement.

"What did it sound like?" Mario asked.

"It was loud, sir." Luigi explained. "Two heavy bangs."

Back on the 'Stingray', the shaking finally came to a complete stop, and anyone who had fallen over was getting up. Shadow who managed to stay in his chair beside Tails, shook his head at Amy.

"Nice job, Rose." he sarcastically told her. "Like dropping a piano. Hey, why don't you do it again in case they didn't hear you the first time?"

"It's all right!" Sonic declared, quickly intervening as he helped up a putdown Amy. "Everybody, back to stations. Begin damage check."

He then went to the P.A. system and spoke into the intercom.

"All hands, we are now going silent. Repeat: Full silent!"


	12. Faux Whales

-Chapter 12: Faux Whales-

The 'Orlando' headed over the area where 'Stingray' was after arriving to the scene of the crashing noises the sonar technicians picked up. Mario headed back over to the sonar and radar panel where Luigi stood with his headset still on.

"P-3s reported possible submarine in the same area-approximately 9000 yards." Luigi explained. "Shall I go active?"

Mario thought for minute.

"Passive sonar only." he replied shaking his head. "Let's not give away our position."

On the 'Stingray', the entire boat was silent. The crew either stood or sat quietly, not speaking a word or a whisper. Tails however continued to listen for anything else on the sonar with his headset. Sonic noticed that Amy was looking quite down and quietly walked over to her.

"Chin up, Rose." he whispered. "It wasn't your fault."

Amy remained quiet as Sonic walked off to a different area. Espio and Knuckles were still in their seats with their backs towards the wheels sitting silently. Mighty was quietly playing around with a pair of wire cutters, picking his nose hairs with it. Snively was still in the same spot in the galley as he wiped some sweat from his forehead. Meanwhile, the 'Orlando' finally arrived and hovered above the 'Stingray'. Mario and Luigi were absorbed in observing the radar at the sonar panel.

"See that's the approximate area of the last sonar buoy contact, sir." Luigi pointed out as Mario gave a nod. "Don't hear anything, but they may be playing possum."

In a different area of the sub, a Toad crewman was quietly walking over to the snack bar which was being operated by Crewman Waluigi.

"Give me a pack of gum." Toad said. "The Fruit Stripe."

Waluigi turned around and picked up the gum and looked at the bottom.

"That's 25." he replied. "Chew it silently."

Toad reached into his jumpsuit pocket and tried to pick up some coins. He accidently dropped some onto the floor. On the 'Stingray', this caused Tails to jump.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he gasped.

Sonic went immediately over to him after hearing the fuss he was making.

"Sir?" Tails whispered pointing up. "It's the 'Orlando. Somebody just dropped 45 cents."

"You sure?" Sonic asked.

"Oh, yeah. Eight blue coins and five yellow ones."

Sonic made a face at Tails' accurate deduction of what was dropped. The crew of the 'Orlando' continued to watch closely for any sign of life while the crew of the 'Stingray', remained silent and Mighty was trying out the finger gig that Shadow did to him earlier. In the kitchen, Rotor was eating what was left of the spaghetti until he suddenly looked up and gulped.

'BBRRRRRRRRRMMMMMMMMM!'

The sound caused Tails to jump again, while on the 'Orlando', Luigi fingered his headset. Sonic and Amy looked around in confusion of where the sound came from. Mario noticed Luigi fingering his headset.

"Hear something?" he asked.

"Yeah." Luigi rasped. "Almost sounded like...an explosion."

Rotor cautiously and guiltingly poked his head out of the kitchen where Sonic shrug his shoulders questioningly at him. Rotor made a little nod causing Sonic to throw him an angry look. The walrus then slowly retreated back into the kitchen. Then suddenly the crew started to notice the change in the 'air'. Tails made a face and started twitching his nose. Amy also made a face and looked around while Sonic, realizing what it was, started holding his uniform sleeve to his muzzle. Shadow after a few seconds, also realized what was in the air.

"Aw, man!" he quietly growled.

"Uggghhh!" Snively grunted after taking whiffs of the air himself.

Shadow got up out of his seat and quietly walked out of the con. Passing through the kitchen, he threw a dirty look at Rotor and went into the bunk room where he grabbed a pillow and covered his head with it as he laid down on the bunk. In the 'Orlando', Luigi was still listening in for any more sounds or noises as Wario joined them.

"Anything else?" Mario asked.

"Not yet." Luigi replied.

The crew of the 'Stingray' was still reeling under the ghastly scent in the air. Sonic, trying to tolerate it, finally had to put his hand over his muzzle. Mighty kept rubbing his eyes the entire time. Espio grudgingly stuff pieces of tissue into his nose and covering his muzzle with another. Snively slowly tilted over looking as though he were about to vomit.

"Somebody needs to sew his ass shut!" Espio angrily whispered.

Sonic threw a finger over his mouth, motioning the chameleon to be quiet causing him to let out a silent groan. Sonic continued walking around until he noticed the whale tapes on Tails' desk. He suddenly had an idea. He motioned Tails to use his talent of whale calling. Unfortunately, Tails wasn't quite getting the message through hand motions. As Sonic tried again, it suddenly turned into him and Tails exchanging pointless hand motions. Mighty, enthralled, decided to join them and then the whole thing turned into hand charades. Finally, Sonic let out a quiet frustrated growl, sending Mighty back to his seat on the floor and Tails to stop making hand motions. Sonic then pointed to the kitsune's tapes, made a motion of calling and then pointed to Tails. He finally got the message and nodded. Sonic let out a sigh of relief as Tails put down his head set and got up.

He walked over to the con area and started whale calling.

"EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, Whoop, oop, oop ooop!"

On the 'Orlando', Mario put on a headset and heard Tails' voice excellently mimicking sea life.

"Is it a biologic?" Mario asked.

Luigi was making faces at the noise.

"Sounds like a whale." he replied.

Tails walked around the bridge making his whale calls.

"! EEEE! Whoop, ooop, ooop, oop."

"Must be a whale." Luigi told Mario with a slight nod. "It's moving around."

Tails moved to one side and made clicking noises, causing Amy to stare bemused at him. Then he paused, moved over to Amy, and continued.

"EEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeee!"

Snively rolled his eyes as Tails went about. Luigi continued making faces at what he was hearing.

"Now it sounds like there's two of them." he said.

"EEEEEeeeeeeEEEEEEeeeeeee. EEeeeeeeeeee. eeeEEEEeeeeEEEEEeeeeeEEEEE! EEEEEEEE! oop, oop, oop."

Shadow, who was now at the galley doorway with Rotor, slowly turned to the walrus while he was making faces. Mario then put down the headset he was wearing.

"Nah, heck with it. False alarm." he declared. "Back to periscope depth. Ahead full!"

The 'Orlando' then pulled out from the area in which the 'Stingray' rested. Tails returned to his seat and looked at the radar after putting his headset back on.

"Orla-" he choked before clearing his throat. "'Orlando', sir. 300 yards and opening."

Sonic let out a deep breath.

"Okay!" he rasped. "Somebody find Buckman, and launch him out a torpedo tube."

Rotor quickly made an exit as Shadow grinned at him. Snively finally managed to get to his post beside the captain.

"Ex-O, let's get this boat moving." Sonic continued. "Course is 0-2-7, and vent this smoke."

Snively threw him a confused look.

"Sir, that's out of the quadrant." he pointed out.

"Yes, it is." Sonic ignorantly replied.

"Captain, I must protest. We have direct orders from Admiral Bowser to stay in this containment area."

"I know my orders, Ex-O. Course 0-2-7. When we're clear surface, then run all full."

The crew promptly went back to operating at their stations as Sonic walked over to Shadow.

"Robotnik, you missed an opportunity there." Sonic told the ebony hedgehog. "One noise from you, we could have been in a world of trouble."

Shadow shook his head.

"No. That would have been unethical, sir." he replied. "I'm only out to screw myself. That would've screwed everybody."

Sonic made a grin as Shadow took off to the engine room. A few minutes later, the 'Stingray' finally went on its way to its destination.


	13. Not Your Fault

-Chapter 13: Not Your Fault-

After the day's tumultuous events, Sonic walked into his cabin and sat down on the bed with a big sigh. He looked up at the portrait of the 'Stingray''s previous captain which he kept and saluted to it.

"Live to fight another day, Captain Boone." Sonic said lowly.

The afternoon quickly turned to night as the sub ran on the surface towards its next target destination. Later into the evening, Sonic was walking through the engine room and smirking as he walked over a sleeping crewman on duty. He came to the torpedo storage room and knocked on the door. A second later, he opened it.

"Permission to enter, Lieutenant Rose." Sonic called out while poking his head into the room.

Amy was sitting on a hammock she set up with a pillow in her lap. She remained silent at the hedgehog captain's request. He heaved another sigh and came in anyway, closing the door behind him.

"Lieutenant Rose?" Sonic called out again.

"I didn't give permission to enter." Amy said lowly.

"Well, sometimes a captain must take unilateral action." Sonic explained with a low chuckle.

"I could have put you on report." Amy countered.

Sonic scoffed.

"Be my guest." he sarcastically offered.

Amy made a face and went silent again. Sonic decided to be frank with her.

"Look, Rose." he began, sitting down. "There is no way you could know what the contour of the ocean floor was like. It's as much as my fault as anybody's."

"No," Amy interjected quietly. "it was mine. I don't have the necessary training, the blue-water experiance to continue to be the dive officer of this boat. Especially considering the high-risk maneuvers you're doing."

"Let me be the judge of that. No one could've set this boat down in any better condition under the circumstances."

"Sir, I not only gave away our position, I potentially endangered the crew. Would you be this easy on me if I was a properly experienced sailor?"

Sonic smiled.

"I'd like to think so." he said.

That caught Amy off guard and she was at a loss for words.

"Thank you, captain." she whispered. "Goodnight."

Sonic got up out of his seat and proceeded to leave the room.

"Goodnight." he said.

Before he got to the door, the sakura hedgehog called his attention.

"Sir?" Amy said, prompting Sonic to face her. "The Murauders Brushing Incident-how did you get over that?"

"Got drunk and passed out." Sonic explained. "Woke up the next morning with a hangover and a tattoo. I wouldn't recommend the tattoo."

The two exchanged smiling glances before Sonic resumed his way out of the room. When opened the door he found Shadow, Knuckles, Espio, Mighty, Rotor, and Tails crowding around the doorway on the opposite side all with mocking and suspicious grins. Sonic was not amused however.

"Polishing the old torpedo, sir?" Shadow asked in an implying tone.

"Shut up, Robotnik." Sonic replied gruffly.

"Thank you, sir. It's nice to be noticed."

"Oh, get outta the way!"

The group bursted into laughter as Sonic herded and shooed them away from the torpedo room.

"Come on." Sonic said with a really annoyed tone as he closed the door behind him. "Get back to bed!"


	14. Mutiny Attempt

-Chapter 14: Mutiny Attempt-

The next morning, it everything was business as usual. Sonic was looking over the charts desk while Snively had his nose stuck in a book. After reading the desired section, he shiftily looked around and walked over to the charts desk.

"May I have a word with you in private, sir?" Snivley asked the cyan hedgehog.

"Sure." Sonic replied, putting his pencil down on the desk.

The two proceeded into Sonic's cabin where Snively opened his book up.

"Uh, sir?" the Ex-O called out while quickly scanning through the pages. "Your decision to leave the Engagement Zone, is a direct violation of our standing orders."

He pointed at the page of the book while the captain went to wash his hands in the sink.

"I'm aware of that, Ex-O." Sonic coolly replied.

"And now, uh, we appear to have broken off radio contact." Snively pointed out, trying to get the male hedgehog to understand the seriousness of the violations he had apparently made.

"You are right on top of things as usual, Snively."

"Captain, we are not following the parameters of this exercise."

"I have been individually briefed. I believe we are following the spirit of this exercise and its intent."

Snively was now beside himself with disbelief as Sonic dried his hands.

"And...and I believe, that you are deluded." he ranted.

Sonic gave him a look and raised an eyebrow.

"You've hijacked your own boat!" Snively continued. "And I think it's my duty, to inform the crew, that we are operating outside of the Navy's control and ask you, to relinquish command."

Sonic was unfazed by his request.

"Relinquish command?" he asked.

"Yes, sir!" Snivley said with much boldness.

"To whom?"

"...To me!"

While Snively was looking madly confident, Sonic was grinning and trying extremely hard not to suddenly burst into hysterical laughter. He hung his towel on Snively's shoulder and prepared to head out of his cabin.

"Excuse me." Sonic said, still grinning.

"C-captain! Sir!" Snively rambled while he scooted after the hedgehog.

He and Sonic headed back into the Conn where Sonic grabbed the microphone.

"Sir, I've read the manual," Snivley continued. "and I am well within my rights!"

"All hands, this is the captain speaking." Sonic called out on the P.A. and catching the crew's attention. "Executive Officer Snively Kintobor has something he'd like to say to you."

Sonic casually handed him the mike in which Snively grabbed it looking greatly determined.

"Men!" he declared after clearing his throat. "Ex-O Kintobor, here! I feel, it is my duty to inform you, that we are longer in contact with COMSUBPLANT. And we have left the Containment Area in direct violation of orders from Admiral Bowser. The Captain does not deny this! So I need...I would like, your support in asking that the Captain hand over command of the 'Stingray'...to me!"

In the Engine Room, Nate Morgan and Shadow busted up laughing. The rest of the crew tried containing themselves by only flashing the slightest of grins.

"Snivley Kintobor." Snively concluded. "God...God bless you all."

Sonic, now having a serious look, took the mike back from the Ex-O and spoke into it to address the crew.

"This is Captain Sonic T. Hedgehog. No man or woman in the U.S.G. Navy has ever been court-martialed for following the Captain's orders. However, if you like to support Ex-O Kintobor, you may speak up now without fear of punishment or reprisal from me."

The crew remained silent. Snively looked desperately over them for supported. Rotor gave a grin and popped a cigar in his mouth, Amy gave a rather awkward look, and Mighty was too busy still trying to figure out how Shadow was able to hit him in temple with just one finger. Seeing that nobody was sticking up for him, Sonic raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Mr. Kintobor." he began. "Looks like you're guilty of attempted mutiny."

Snively gave a look of disbelief.

"THAT'S ABSURD!" he exclaimed. "THESE MEN LOVE ME!"

Sonic, still grinning, spoke into the mike again.

"Mr. Robotnik, would you come into the control room please?"

An hour later, most of the crew was up on deck and clad in a pirate themed outfits. Whatever spare items they had was transformed into a pirate motif like playing cards, linen, beer and soda cans, and black markers to draw skull and crossbones. Even the pirate flag was attached to the periscope. Sonic was up on the perch with a wooden sword and leading the crew into song.

'Come on, Ye young fellas

who follow the sea.

Yo-ho, and blow the man

down.

It's time to be bathing in

Lieutenant 'Snivteen'.

Yo-ho and blow the man

down.

Oh, give me a plank that

looks out on the sea.

Yo-ho and blow the man

down.

It's a short little walk

wrapped with eternity.

Yo-ho and blow the man

down!'

Sonic cut the singing off with the wave of his wooden sword. But, Mighty still had one verse to add.

"Blow that not-so-kooky punk back downtown!" he sang.

"CAPTAIN BLOOD!" Sonic boomed, making Mighty jump a bit. "Bring forth the prisoner!"

The crew began cheering and hooting while Rotor noticed a headless and plucked bird tied to Mighty's shoulder.

"Hey Nitro, ain't that one of my chickens?" Rotor asked pointing to the bird.

"Uh, no it's a parrot." Mighty lewdly explained. "Uh, from the Caribbean."

Rotor took another look at it.

"Don't let it fly away. That's supper." he told the armadillo.

"Arg!" Mighty replied nodding.

Then Shadow, with no shirt on and with a white skull and crossbones painted onto his chest, came out on deck dragging a blindfolded, tied up, and squirming Snively before Sonic as the crew continued to cheer and heckle.

"Mr. Kintobor!" Sonic boomed again. "Have you any last words before you walk the plank, sir?"

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS, YOU MANIAC!" Snively yelled. "THIS IS THE MODERN NAVY! PEOPLE DON'T WALK THE PLANK!"

Sonic in turn ignored the Ex-O's rants.

"Captain Blood, consign him to the briny deep!" the hedgehog commanded.

The crew started to cheer and hoot again. Just below Sonic was Tails, standing in front of an electronic keyboard.

"Sonar?" Sonic called out, catching the kitsune's attention. "Play me a dirge, matey."

Tails paused for a minute, and then started to play a dire tune which prompted the other crewman to sing along as Shadow dragged Snively to the plank. Meanwhile, Amy also came out on deck. When she saw what was going on she turned away in a quick dread but then slowly turned back.

"Luck be with ye, Mr. Kintobor." Sonic sneered. "Walk!"

"THIS IS CRAZY!" Snively cried as Shadow pushed him across the plank. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! YOU'VE LOST IT, HEDGEHOG! YOU'RE GOING AROUND THE BEND! YOU'LL HANG FOR THIS! STOP OR YOU'LL ALL HANG!"

The crew quieted down for Sonic to deliver one more eulogy while Amy, seeing something approaching the sub, crossed her arms to see out this would really turn out.

"Eternal Oceans, from which we came." Sonic declared. "Receive Lieutenant Snively Kintobor. May God have mercy on his soul!"

By this time, Snivley was absolutely in fright and shivering with it.

"Now you're mine, maggot." Shadow quietly and mockingly hissed in the Ex-O's ear. "Watch that last step!"

With that, the Ultimate Lifeform pushed Snivley overboard.

"MOMMY!" he cried.

But instead of landing in the ocean, Snively landed in a hanging net of a fishing boat that apparently was called upon to aid the 'Stingray'. Snively gave a gasp of short relief while the rest of the crew started to cheer. Amy gave a chuckle after watching the event.

"The U.S.G Navy thanks you for your help, gentlemen!" Sonic called out to the crew of the fishing boat.

"Anytime!" a fisherman called back.

Snivley now furious, was struggling in the net and through the rope in which he was tied with.

"YOU BASTERD, SONIC!" he roared.

Shadow came back over the plank and threw Snively's suitcase into the net along with him. The crew cheered as he made a pose coming back on deck.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it, Lieutenant?" Sonic asked turning to Amy who smirked at him. Then Sonic called to crew to his attention. "Alright, all hands below. We're going back inside the Containment Area."

The crew cheered again exchanging high-fives while Snively still attempted to liberate himself.


	15. Second Phase

-Chapter 15: Second Phase-

Back at Soleanna, word of Snively's plank walking incident spread far. Prompting Admin. Bowser to scoot over to Admin. Gerald Robotnik and the other admirals to prove his point on how bad an officer Sonic really was.

"He made him walk the plank?" Admin. Robotnik asked after hearing the story from his fellow admiral.

"Sir, this exercise has gotten out of hand." Admin. Bowser protested. "Not only has he violated the rules of this war game, but he's gone AWOL with G.S Government property. The boy should be court-martialed!"

"Maybe, but you can't find him."

Bowser flashed a grin.

"I won't have to." he sneered deviously. "Sonic wouldn't have pushed it this far, unless he planning to make a run on Soleanna itself. I'll be waiting for him."

"You'll be waiting for him?" Robotnik asked again.

"Yes, sir. I plan on taking charge of his capture...personally."

That night on the sea, the 'Stingray' was running at high speed on the surface. Sonic was in his cabin and at his desk, looking over a little book. After reading it, he circled a tid bit of information and sat back in his chair. They seemed to be coordinates for his next move.

The next day, Bowser boarded a helicopter that took him to the 'Orlando'. The ocean was littered with battle ships in search for the 'Stingray'. The sub itself was cautiously at periscope depth and scanning the feild. Sonic was at the periscope analyzing their current situation.

"Yeah, there are about 15 ships up there." Sonic told Amy who standing beside him. "They got 'em set up like a picket line."

"They must know we're coming." Amy replied in a low voice.

There was a pause.

"Down Periscope." Sonic declared.

The periscope slid back down as Sonic glanced at his watch. Meanwhile, Bowser boarded the 'Orlando'. A whistle alerted the crew.

"Attention on deck!" Mario called out.

"That's all right, men." Bowser rasped while rubbing his eye. "Carry on."

Mario marched right up to the koopa to greet him.

"Welcome aboard, sir." the captain stated.

Bowser threw him a dirty look.

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" he snapped.

Mario gave quite a confused look before Bowser realized he made an outburst.

"Sorry, I haven't been got much sleep, I-" he muttered. "Everything's set to go here though, right?"

"Yes, sir." Mario replied, trying to keep his composure. "The harbor is effectively blockaded.

"Good. Then have all surface ships begin their active sonar search."

"Aye, aye, sir. Officer of the deck, submerge the boat."

"NOW GENTLEMEN!" Bowser shouted clapping his hands together. "NOW! LET'S GO! LIKE IT ALREADY HAPPENED!"

Mario continued to give Bowser quite an awkward look. Back on the 'Stingray', Tails was hard at work trying to detect every sound possible.

"Active sonars in all quadrants, sir." the kitsune announced. "Air, ship, ocean floor sensors-they got everything on!"

"Arg!" Mighty cried out. He was the only crewman still dressed up like a pirate.

"No surprise." Sonic said. "From here on out, no unnecessary conversation."

In the 'Orlando', the sonar technicians were hard at work trying to pinpoint the 'Stingray's' location.

"We have a faint echo, captain." Luigi declared. "15,000 yards at 3-4-9'er."

"Track steady." Mario told him.

The 'Orlando' shifted its course to follow the ping while they in turn, pinged the 'Stingray' as it was being pinged by other ships.

"We're being actively pinged, sir." Tails announced again. "Repeat, active sonar, 12,000 yards."

"Steady on course." Sonic told him and the other crewmen. "Keep an ear out for commercial traffic."

Soon enough, the 'Orlando' was on the 'Stingray's' trail.

"11,000 yards and closing." Luigi declared.

"Okay, let's prepare torpedo guidance." Mario ordered the other crewman.

"Aye, sir." Toad said as Bowser gave Mario an approving nod. "Prepare for torpedo guidance."

The ships on the surface began sounding their sirens alerting other ships of the 'Orlando's' progress. The 'Stingray' still pressed forward.

"What's the surface traffic like?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, five destroyers, three frigates, and a commercial supertanker, sir." Tails replied.

Then Sonic had an idea.

"The Denali out of Soleanna." he muttered to himself. Then he turned to his crew. "All right, ladies and gentlemen, we have fulfilled every required of this mission except one-Soleanna. Presently, there are several ships position outside the harbor to intercept us. To get in, we're gonna have to use a tactic that is somewhat bizarre and extremely risky. If any of you feel it's not worth it, please let me know now."

"Uh, actually, sir, I think we prefer to go with the bizarre and risky." Knuckles quipped. "It worked for us so far."

Standing in the galley doorway next to Rotor was Shadow with an antagonistic yet determined stare and with his arms folded.

"I think we should continue to kick ass, sir." he ranted in a serious voice.

"Yeah!" Rotor leered breaking out into applause and was followed by the rest of the crew. Knuckles gave a grin as the crew agreed with Shadow's suggestion.

"Very well, then." Sonic said. "Make for the tanker. All ahead full."

Amy gave him a look.

"The tanker, sir?" she questioned.

"We're gonna use it as a hat." Sonic explained.

"How do we get in?"

"Right between the screws."

Amy blinked and looked incredibly flustered.

"Why don't we just come up from underneath, sir?" she suggested.

"Never fool them that way." Sonic told her. "You gotta go through the cavitation. They lose us for 20, 30 seconds, then all they can pick up is the tanker."

"I've never done a maneuver like that, sir."

"Sure you have. Pinpoint drills in the simulator."

Amy's flustered look did not waver.

"Captain, this is way over my head." she said in a low voice.

"Just focus on your procedures." Sonic replied trying to encourage her.

"You've all worked so hard to get this far. I don't wanna be the one who screws it up for you."

"Amy..."

"Please? Don't ask me."

There was a moment of silence before Sonic finally acknowledged her request.

"Okay, I'll take it, Lieutenant." Sonic quietly told her.

"Thank you, Captain." Amy replied in a lower tone.


	16. Threading the Needle

-Chapter 16: Threading the Needle-

Captain Sonic walked up to the two steerage officers Knuckles and Espio.

"Make your depth 1-2-5 feet." Sonic ordered them.

"1-2-5. Aye." Knuckles replied.

On the 'Orlando', the sub was starting to narrow down on the 'Stingray'. Now they were in torpedo range.

"8,000 yards and closing, sir." Sonar Technician Luigi called out. "Confirm torpedo range."

Captain Mario gave a nod.

"Fix position." he said. "Prepare for guidance lock."

Admiral Bowser who was still sitting in chair behind the captain, gave a devilish look.

"I got you now, Popeye." he sneered.

The tanker that was casually steaming on its way on the surface, was being pursued by the 'Stingray' from below the ocean and from behind.

"100 yards and closing, sir." Sonar Technician Tails called out. "Two minutes till contact."

"Three degrees down bubble." Sonic commanded.

"Three degrees down bubble. Aye." Knuckles replied.

Lieutenant Amy Rose made a face after hearing the order.

"Three degrees, sir?" she asked the captain.

Sonic threw her another look.

"What is it, Rose?" he asked.

"Nothing, sir." Amy replied, backing down.

The sub made its way towards the tanker's propellers with full speed. Pretty soon, the boat started to shake from the backwash.

"Captain, the propeller turbulence is becoming a problem." Knuckles said.

"Two degrees down bubble." Sonic told him. "Make that two and a half degrees down bubble."

"Two and a half degrees down bubble. Aye!"

"Maybe one and a half, sir." Amy interjected.

"Be quiet, Rose, or do it yourself." Sonic ordered sternly.

Amy made a nervous face. The sub continued through the turbulence getting closer to the tanker and causing the hull to shake harder. With the hull shaking violently, things started to fall off selves and the lights to flicker.

"It's getting tough to hold in all of this wash, sir." Espio rasped. "I must be right behind one of the props!"

Sonic was still holding his composure while everyone else was trying to stay in place.

"One degree left rudder." the blue hedgehog ordered.

"No sir!" Amy cried out. "Chop's heavier to port. We need right rudder!"

"You think you know better, then get up here and drive!" Sonic threw back at her.

"I don't think I should, sir."

"You're the only who can, Rose. I'm guessing here!"

The two exchanged intense stares while everyone else was looking at them wondering what will happen next. With brief hesitation and as the shaking got more violent, Amy walked up to the conn.

"All back one-third!" she ordered. "Right full rudder!"

"Right full rudder. Aye!" A crewman replied.

The 'Stingray' began to shift its course to the right. Getting out from the front of the propeller.

"Ten feet and closing, sir." Tails called out.

"All ahead two-thirds!" Amy cried. "Rudder amidships! Zero bubble! Steady course! 2-7-0! BALLS TO THE WALL, BOYS!"

Both Rotor and Shadow made expressions at Amy's statement. Slowly but surely the sub was starting get in between the tanker's huge propellers. The hull continued to shake as they passed through.

"Stay right full!" Amy yelled. "Hold steady now!"

"We're holding, ma'am!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Hang with me, Jackson!"

"I've got you, tight on it!" Espio replied.

The 'Stingray' was finally getting through the propellers. This was starting to cause the 'Orlando' to lose them on the sonar and radar.

"Uh, sir, sonar contact is breaking up." Luigi said. "We're having some trouble tracking them now."

"What?" Bowser cried, jumping out of his seat and marching over to Luigi. "Don't you dare tell me that."

As the 'Stingray' slid through the propellers, the pipes in the Engine Room suddenly burst open. The water spraying inside knocked CPO officer Nate Morgan over and causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness. A crewman pulled him to a safe area and rushed to the P.A.

"Conn, engine room." the crewman cried. "We're taking on water!"

Both Amy and Sonic threw urgent looks at Shadow who was still standing at the Galley doorway with Rotor.

"I'll take care of it, sir." Shadow said with determination.

With that he rushed out of there.

"Maintain course." Sonic ordered, rushing to the P.A and speaking into it. "Help is on the way!"

Shadow ran through the sub towards the engine room. When he got there, he promptly shut the door and locked it.

"Hey, Nate!" Shadow called out trying to find the CPO.

He was instead greeted by a desperate crewman.

"The leaks are too strong!" he cried. "We got to abandon!"

"YOU'RE NOT ABANDONING SHIT!" Shadow exclaimed at him grabbing a pipe cover. "I HATE THESE STINKIN' SUBMARINES, BUT I SURE AS HELL AM NOT GONNA DIE IN ONE! BLOCK THOSE LEAKS!"

The ebony hedgehog and the other crewman started grabbing more pipe covers and attempted to block the raging water coming at them. Meanwhile, both Sonic and Amy were still trying to maintain order and course.

"Bump it up to full!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Keep your trim!" Amy cried. "One and a half down bubble. All ahead full!"

The 'Stingray' continued to pull through the propellers now about halfway through. Meanwhile in the engine room, Shadow and the other crewman managed to block the major leaks plowing through the pipes.

"Come on, guys. Let's work on this one." Shadow told them.

Suddenly, another pipe burst open with a furious raptide of water.

"Oh, shit! It's the main!" the crewman cried.

Shadow promptly grabbed a pipe cover and began battling the water spraying harshly onto him.

"Dress rehearsal from hell, boys!" he shouted.

Growling and yelling, Shadow struggled to latch the cover onto the pipe until he finally succeeded. After making sure it was somewhat tightly on, he noticed that Nate was coming around from being unconscious and went over to him.

"You alright, Nate?" Shadow asked, helping the elderly human up.

"Yeah, did I miss anything?" Nate replied.

"Just a little water."

The submarine continued its course, and finally the violent shaking slowly started to ceased until it stopped completely and all was still. They were now completely under the tanker.

"We're through!" Sonic announced letting out a deep breath of relief.

The crew began cheering and Amy let out a big breathe. The crewman shouted random things as they gave each other high fives.

"YEAH! We're through! How bout some quesadillas?"

Sonic turned to Amy with a big smile.

"Nice work, Rose." he said.

"Thank you, sir." Amy replied with an equally big smile.

"Spots, Jackson, you too." Sonic added, looking at the echidna and chameleon gasping with relief at the wheels.

Both Knuckles and Espio then exchanged a handshake. Sonic went over to the P.A. to check on the situation with the Engine Room.

"How are you doing back there, Nate?" he asked.

"We'll be up in a couple of minutes." Nate groaned. "I just got out of the shower."

"Glad to hear it. Hang in there!"

The crewmen in the Engine Room were now busy securing the pipe covers so there would be no further leaks. Shadow turned to Nate after working on the water main pipe.

"Now, THAT was fun!" he declared.

Nate let out a laugh and then a groan as he put his hand towards his aching head. The 'Stingray' being under the tanker, followed it on its way towards Soleanna. Meanwhile on the 'Orlando' the crew had now lost the 'Stingray' from their coordinates.

"I'm sorry, sir but we've lost them." Luigi said. "Nothing out there but commercial traffic, sir."

"I just don't believe it." Bowser fumed. "I can't God damn believe it! The man's gotta be out there somewhere! He can't just have vanished!"

The rest of the 'Orlando' crew including Mario remained silent. Back on the 'Stingray', Sonic was in his cabin washing his face when there was a knock at his door.

"Come in!" he rasped as he wiped his face with a towel.

The cabin door burst open revealing Amy at it. She regained her composure after almost rushing into the captain's cabin.

"Excuse me, sir." she rasped.

"Hi, Lieutenant." Sonic replied throwing the towel aside. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering how much longer you would have waited before doing it right."

"Half a heartbeat."

The blue blur let out a laugh.

"You know, you scared the hell out of me, Amy." Sonic chuckled.

Amy gave a straight face though it looked like she were about to smile.

"Permission to speak freely, sir." she said.

"Granted." Sonic replied with a nod.

Then, the sakura hedgehog with a smile stepped forward and gave him a kiss. A micro second of stares followed before Amy regained herself.

"S-sir." she sputtered, saluting Sonic.

She then rushed out of the cabin giggling after hitting her elbow on the light switch. Sonic meanwhile just put his hands on his hips and chuckled.


	17. Catch Us if You Can

-Chapter 17: Catch Us if You Can-

The tanker went on its merry way, unknowing that it was covering the 'Stingray' from being detected by the 'Orlando'. Inside the 'Stingray' everything was nice and quiet as the crew figured it would be smooth sailing from this point. Knuckles and Espio were still at the diving wheels exchanging conversation.

"Hey, 'Spots'." Espio called out.

"Yes, Mr. Jackson." Knuckles replied.

"You that layup at the end of the Army game?"

"I know. You were fouled."

"...I choked."

Knuckles gave the chameleon a look.

"Just wanted you to know that." Espio said quietly.

"What are you talkin' about, man?" Knuckles questioned. "You got the best hands in the navy. You were tomahawked."

Espio shook his head.

"No, man, I'm a mediocre player, Spots." he told Knuckles. "I never started for any team I ever played for."

"Don't gimme that." the echidna scolded. "YOU are NBAM material. You remember that."

Espio cracked a smile.

"Yeah..." he said. "I guess you're right."

"What, are you kidding?" Knuckles said sarcastically with a doubting glance to which Espio frowned at.

Out on the surface, the tanker was surrounded by passing by naval ships searching relentlessly for the 'Stingray'. The tanker moved along as if nothing serious was going on. Inside the 'Orlando', the Sonar technicians were still trying to search the oceans for the sub and still coming up with nothing, further irritating Admin. Bowser.

"It's not in the area, sir." Luigi said, shaking his head. "It must have headed back out to sea."

"Oh, no, not him." Bowser insisted. "Not now. Trust me, he is out there."

Suddenly, without any warning, the tanker above the 'Stingray' began to alter its course.

"Uh-oh, tanker's turning." Tails announced.

"What?" Sonic exclaimed.

"It's not going to Soleanna, sir. We're gonna be uncovered here real soon."

"Damn!"

"You want me to stay with them, sir?" Amy offered.

"No." Sonic replied, thinking. "We got a lead on the 'Orlando', and we're past the surface ships. We gotta make our run on Soleanna now."

"There's a lot of active sonar out there, sir." Tails piped in. "'Orlando's' on definitive search and destroy."

"Can't be helped." Sonic said. "At least we'll know where she is."

The 'Stingray' started to pull away from the tanker as it turned towards the right. Pretty soon, the sonar of the 'Orlando' picked it up.

"Got 'em!" Luigi exclaimed. "2-5-0, 12,000 yards."

"Christ, he's already ahead of us!" Bowser ranted.

The koopa then went up to the command area.

"The admiral has the conn!" he announced.

"Admiral. all due respect, this is my boat." Mario protested.

"Not right now it's not, with all due respect." Bowser told him. Then he started barking out orders and Mario kind of scowled at him. "Ahead full! Course 2-5-0!"

The 'Orlando' was now on the 'Stingray's' tail with all due speed. The sonar on the 'Stingray' was receiving signals of her opponent's impending presence.

"They're on us, sir!" Tails announced. "We're being actively pinged. 11,000 yards and closing."

"Argggg...!" Mighty grunted like a pirate nervously.

"Up Periscope." Sonic ordered. The periscope was lifted up and Sonic went to go look through it. "Okay, we got cloud cover up there. Low overcast. Their planes will have trouble seeing us. Prepare to surface we're gonna run on top."

He then folded up the handles on the periscope.

"All right, everybody," the cyan hedgehog announced. "it's time to kick this pig! Leave Bowser squealin' from the feelin'!"

"Squeakin' from the freakin'!" Espio added.

"Oinkin' from the boinkin'." Rotor also added.

The stingray slowly appeared from the depths of the sea as she surfaced while the 'Orlando' shot up like a bullet and slammed down on the surface causing the hull to slightly shake.

"10,000 yards and closing." Luigi called out.

"Prepare for torpedo guidance." Bowser commanded. "Let's get a shooting solution."

Mario meanwhile was silently observing his crew hard at work, conflicted about whether Bowser's orders should be heeded or not. The 'Stingray' meanwhile was now fully surfaced and making all speed towards the Soleanna harbor with the 'Orlando' following closely behind.

"8,000 yards and closing, sir." Tails announced.

"Radio call for you, Captain." Mighty called out while listening to his headset. "Some guy named Bowser and ser ser."

The armadillo made an awkward shrug as he and Sonic exchanged glances.

"Put it on the overhead." Sonic told him.

"Uh, just a minute, sir." Mighty replied with a nervous expression. He put the headset down and took off his boot. His sock had a large hole which showed a few of his toes. He grabbed one end of a broken live wire with his toes and grabbed the end of another one with his fingers after licking them. Then, Mighty flipped the switch, causing an electrical charge to run through him.

"Aackk! Go ahead, sir! Aahh!" Mighty cried out in pain.

"Hedgehog here." Sonic said into the phone.

"Hedgehog?" Bowser said on the other end. "This is Admiral Bowser. I'm on the 'Orlando', and I'm putting you on notice. When informed of a shooting solution, I expect you to acknowledge it in accordance with the rules of this war game."

"Since when do the rules become important to you, sir?" Sonic remarked.

"You watch yourself, Hedgehog. You are addressing a superior officer."

"No, merely a higher-ranking one. Catch us if you can!"

The 'Stingray' crew burst into laughter and cheers.

"Ha ha ha! Yeah! Alright!"

Sonic put down the phone and went over to the P.A.

"Gimme all you got, Nate." he said into the mike.

In the engine room, Nate, Shadow, and the rest of the engineers were just recovering from the leak problem.

"Aye, sir!" Nate cried into the P.A. speaker. "This is what I live for-D.B.F.!"

Shadow chuckled and shook his head. Nate went over to a metallic cooler and pulled out a bottle of liquor. After taking a big gulp, he poured the rest of it into the 'Stingray's' tank. Shadow watched him in confusion.

"What are you doing?" he cried.

"Whiskey." Nate explained. "Thins out the mix! Gives us another 50 R.."

With the liquor combining with the oil, the 'Stingray' seemed to go a bit faster than it had before. The 'Orlando' was still in an effort to catch up with her opponent.

"5,000 yards and closing!" Luigi called out.

The computers on the sub began to signal on a torpedo range.

"Confirm torpedo range." Mario announced. "We have guidance lock."

"Report when you have a shooting solution." Bowser said after nodding. "Put on some speed!"

"Aye, sir!" a crewman called out.


	18. The Final Kill

-Chapter 18: The Final Kill-

The 'Stingray' raced her way towards her target with all speed. The 'Orlando' was still fast on her tail, intent on catching her rival.

"'Orlando', 3,000 yards and closing." Tails announced.

"Conn, torpedo." a crewman called out on the P.A. from the weapons room. "Request permission to arm flares, sir."

"Hell, no." Sonic replied. "Ready torpedo tubes one and two."

"Aye, sir."

Amy spun around with a surprised expression on her face along with the rest crew.

"Torpedoes?" she questioned.

Sonic grinned.

"Trust me." he replied.

There was a silence until Tails broke it with the latest report on the 'Orlando's' progress.

"1,100 yards and closing." he called out.

"Ha-cha-cha!" Rotor quirked.

"Up periscope." Sonic commanded.

In the weapons room, the crewman were loading the torpedoes into the tubes and sealing them.

"We're lit!"

"Chambers!"

"Seal!"

Sonic looked through the periscope trying to search for his target.

"Walk on hands free." he told the crew.

The cyan hedgehog looked through the periscope again and this time, his target, the dummy ship Admin. Robotnik had told him about at the briefing was in visual.

"Bearing...mark." he called out.

"2-6-3." Amy told him.

"Range 9-0-0."

"Second mark, sir?"

"Haven't got the time. Gotta shoot from the hip. Bearing 2-6-3, fire one!

"Fire one!" a crewman from the weapons room repeated. He pushed the button and release the live torpedo into the water ahead.

"Bearing, 2-6-4..." Sonic continued still looking through the scope. "range 8-5-0, fire two!"

"Fire two!"

Then the second torpedo was released into the water. All they could do now was wait and see if they would hit. Meanwhile, on the 'Orlando', the sonar computers were now signaling of a shooting solution.

"Sir, we have a shooting solution." Mario announced.

"Well," Bowser chuckled. "Get the 'Stingray' right away. Give 'em the coordinates. I wanna tell him-he's targeted. If he has the guts to acknowledge."

Back on the 'Stingray', Mighty was continuing to listen to his headset for any communication signals until he finally got one.

"Sir? It's that General What's-his-name again." the armadillo called out.

Sonic nodded and put the handles of the periscope up.

"Forget the phone." he replied. "Put it on the squawk."

Mighty made another anxious face.

"Okay...yes, sir." he stammered quietly.

Mighty opened a file drawer and pulled out a large leather glove. After slipping it on, he braced himself as he flipped the switch. When nothing happened, he made an over-confidant stance as if he knew what he was doing.

"Submarine 'Stingray'," Bowser called out from the other end. "this is Submarine 'Orlando'. It has been confirmed, you are targeted."

Sonic stood in the command area holding his hands behind his back unfazed by the admiral's announcement while the crew was silent and somewhat in dread and disappointment.

"Submarine 'Orlando'," he replied back. "this is Submarine 'Stingray'. 'Stingray One' speaking. We acknowledge the kill and congratulate the 'Orlando' and all the fine men on that boat."

"Well, thank you, captain." Bowser chuckled sarcastically.

"However," Sonic continued with a smirk and folding his arms. "at the time of your transmission, I had already fired two torpedoes."

Bowser's expression quickly turned from victorious to shock and disbelief.

"WHAT?" he cried.

The crew of the 'Stingray' exchanged smiles at the admiral's shock.

"You can probably hear them in the water." Sonic continued prompting Bowser to turn on the radio signals next to the phone. "And though we are dead, our fish are on their way to the naval station dummy ship. They hit, we still win. Arg har har!"

The torpedoes meanwhile were closing in on their target. Bowser was now beside himself with rage. Mario and Wario were trying to contain themselves from grinning. As far as they were concerned it was over.

"You son of a bitch!" Bowser hissed. "Were those hot torpedoes or exercise shots?"

"Sir, our fish are running hot, straight, and normal." Sonic told him. "If we aimed them right, any kills should be visible in your scope."

Bowser promptly put down the phone and looked through the 'Orlando's' periscope.

"Ten seconds!" Tails announced.

"Nine," Sonic counted also looking through the periscope of his ship. "eight, seven, six."

Both crews of the 'Stingray' and the 'Orlando' held their breaths as the countdown went on.

"Five," Sonic continued. "four, three, two, one..."

Then the dummy ship sitting at the Soleanna docks spontaneously exploded as the torpedoes impacted the ship's hull.

"Sweet!" Tails cried lifting his headset.

The crew then exploded into cheers and laughter. Amy gave a really big smile.

"Arg!" Mighty shouted.

"YES!" Shadow exclaimed in the engine room.

"YEAH!" Both Knuckles and Espio cheered as they exchanged high fives.

Sonic was also grinning from ear to ear.

"God, I love this job!" he shouted as he put up the periscope's handles.

The crew then commenced their victory dances and put on more cheers. On the 'Orlando', the crew was silent as Bowser angrily slammed the periscope's handles up. Wario smirked at Mario as he reluctantly handed him five coins. It seems that Wario had won a bet.


	19. My Crew   Dismissed!

-Chapter 19: My Crew/Dismissed!-

The Soleanna port was now filled with cheering civilians. Families of the crew and well wishers were throwing a 'Welcome Home' party of sorts as they waved flags and homemade banners. The 'Stingray' docked at the port and the crew came out now dressed in white naval and sailor uniforms. The only one not wearing a uniform was Nate Morgan. One by one the crew saluted as they disembarked from the sub. Meanwhile Bowser's chopper landed into the port as Admin. Gerald Robotnik's car, now sporting a license plate with three stars, pulled in. Robotnik came out of his car also dressed in a white uniform with a proud look on his face. Bowser quickly sped up to him after getting out of his chopper. Gerald saluted him but Bowser ignored it.

"Sir, this entire exercise is invalid," Bowser protested. "Sonic left the containment area-"

"After you had narrowed it without proper authorization." Gerald interrupted.

"He ignored a direct order!" Bowser insisted.

"Stow it Koopa. He had higher orders. And you can forget about that third star."

Bowser made a sputtered and confused expression as Gerald grinned at him. Then the admiral left the koopa behind as he went to meet with the 'Stingray's' crew. They were marching along the dock with Nate giving them marching orders.

"To right, to the left." he bellowed out. "To the right, to the left."

This continued until they approached Admin. Robotnik.

"Crew, halt!" Nate commanded as they came to a stop. "Crew, salute!"

They saluted with eagerness except Shadow who merely put his hand up and back down.

"Welcome back, Captain." Gerald told the blue blur. "You certainly pushed my orders to the breaking point."

"Thank you, sir." Sonic replied. "I mean, if that's a compliment."

"However, under the circumstances, I will not be able to give you your own Los Angeles-class nuclear submarine."

Sonic was starting to feel a bit down.

"Yes, sir." he acknowledged.

"You will be given instead a new Seawolf-class nuclear submarine," Gerald said with anticipation, making Sonic perk up. "and will attend its launching on Friday. And this time, you'll be given a proper crew, one commensurate with your tactical and leadership abilities!"

Sonic frowned at the crew part.

"Thank you, sir but I'd have to decline." he said.

"Decline?" Gerald asked.

"I would not be in line for such a promotion without the help of my present crew." Sonic told him. "I could not, in good conscience, accept another command without them."

Some crew members started smiling in appreciation.

"Still setting terms, huh, Hedgehog?" Gerald asked.

"Just respectfully requesting, sir." Sonic explained.

More smiles were brought out amongst the crew.

"Well," Gerald said with a sigh. "at least you got my son to face forward."

Shadow gave an awkward and embarrassed look while Nate was quietly trying to hold in a laugh.

"Your son?" Sonic asked confusingly. Then he remembered that little comment Shadow had made to him weeks earlier. "Maria-Robotnik, sir?"

"Yes, it's his mother's name." Gerald replied while glancing at Shadow.

Sonic gave a nod in reply.

"His salute still leaves something to be desired." Gerald added sternly.

"I'll work on that, sir." Sonic replied, trying not to laugh.

"You do that, Commander." Gerald said with a smile and saluting the cyan hedgehog.

Sonic saluted him back. When the admiral glanced at Shadow again, the Hedgehog promptly gave an honorific salute, to which Gerald smiled and saluted back. As the admiral gave his leave, Sonic turned to his crew.

"Dismissed!" he shouted.

The crew cheered and started running towards their awaiting families. Sonic watched them proudly.

"Live it up guys, you earned it." he said under his breath.

Tails, who was quite a distance away from him, turned to face Sonic.

"Thank you, sir!" he called out. "I'll try not to overdo it!"

Sonic smiled back him at the kitsune trotted off. They only crew member to remain behind was Amy Rose.

"What exactly is this tattoo I keep hearing about?" she asked.

"Well, it's a long story." Sonic replied a little awkwardly and putting an arm around her shoulder. "It was just after the Merauder brushing incident. I believe you're familiar with that."

As Sonic explained the story, they walked off into the Soleanna port.

-THE END-


End file.
